Pornography depicting strangulation should be made illegal along with other kinds of “legal but harmful” sexual material, according to an independent review for the UK government.

The recommendation is one of 32 made by the Conservative peer Gabby Bertin, who was commissioned by the former prime minister Rishi Sunak to scrutinise the industry in 2023.

Lady Bertin also recommended banning the possession, distribution and publication of other degrading, violent or misogynistic pornography, as well as the prohibition of “nudification” apps.

Choking during sex is becoming increasingly normalised, with one surveyshowing nearly four in 10 women aged 18 to 39 have experienced it.

Bertin said pornography had always been a fact of life, but in recent years its scale and impact had “transformed dramatically” owing to online distribution.

“The evidence is overwhelming that allowing people to view legal but harmful pornography like choking sex, violent and degrading acts, and even content that could encourage child sexual abuse, is having a damaging impact on children and society,” she said. “The law needs to be tightened with more proactive regulation of online platforms.”

Bertin’s review said non-fatal strangulation or “choking” sex had already been criminalised under the 2021 Domestic Abuse Act and should therefore be added to the definition of extreme, illegal pornography.

Responding to the report, government ministers said “graphic” strangulation pornography was already illegal but they would take “urgent action” to address the problem.

However, Bertin said there was no case law to support the government’s argument that strangulation pornography was in effect banned under the 2008 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act.

“I am not confident that its inclusion is clear,” she said, adding that the Obscene Publications Act should be updated to include choking material. This would remove any legal ambiguity over the issue, she said.

The review has been published days after the UK communications watchdog published measures to tackle online misogyny, including tackling explicit deepfakes and “revenge porn”.

Pornography is viewed regularly by more than a quarter of the UK on social media and pornography sites. According to the UK communications watchdog, Ofcom, men are twice as likely as women to visit a pornographic site.

Other recommendations from the review include making pornography that depicts incest illegal, creating an ombudsman for victims of intimate image abuse, and banning people who upload illegal material online from uploading material on to platforms.

The UK technology secretary, Peter Kyle, said on Thursday he would not hesitate to “adapt the law” to prevent people from accessing degrading pornography online.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme before the publication of the review, he said: “I know that this content is harmful to many of the people who currently have free access to it. We have the powers to prevent people getting the access to it, even if the material is provided from elsewhere.

“We just need to find ways of making sure that that is done efficiently and effectively. And if I have to adapt the law in response to any gaps that emerge in these powers then of course I’ll act as swiftly as I can.”

Original Source: Betsy Reed, The Guardian. Click here for original post. 

In 2024, 26 domestic violence and 16 strangulation charges were filed at the Knox County Prosecutor’s Office, according to their office’s internal records. According to the same records, 19 domestic violence and one strangulation case were filed in 2023.

In April 2023, strangulation charges were bumped up to a felony charge instead of a misdemeanor in Ohio. The offense can be classified as a second-, fourth- or fifth-degree felony.

Knox County Prosecutor Chip McConville said he’s unsure if the uptick is a trend or a one-time numbers bump.

Domestic violence cases filed in Mount Vernon Municipal Court have increased in recent years, according to court records.

In 2020, 75 domestic violence cases were filed in municipal court. In 2024, it was 104. The height of domestic violence cases in municipal court was in 2022 with 115.

The Ohio Domestic Violence Network, a statewide agency collecting domestic violence data, counted 114 total intimate partner-related fatalities from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.

Nationally, an estimated 10 million people every year are affected by domestic violence, according to the National Institute of Health. Data also shows as many as one in four women and one in 9 men are victims of domestic violence.

Domestic violence clients rose for New Directions

Knox County-based domestic violence service center New Directions has seen an increase in domestic violence clients served in the past four years.

In 2021, New Directions served 258 domestic violence clients, according to the agency’s internal data. In 2024, it was 328.

New Directions also conducts lethality assessment protocol (LAP) screenings, where law enforcement endeavors to help identify survivors at the highest risk of serious harm, and connecting them to resources while on scene, executive director Lindsey Lamp said.

Those screenings also significantly increased from 2021 to 2024 — from 56 to 78. The Mount Vernon Police Department received 205 domestic violence calls in 2024, according to department records. In 2023, it was 217.

“This suggests not only a rise in cases but potentially an increase in the severity of violence survivors are experiencing,” Lamp said.

Several factors could contribute to the increase in police response to domestic violence incidents, Lamp said.

“Community awareness of domestic violence and how to be an active bystander plays a critical role, as more community members may be recognizing signs of abuse and contacting law enforcement,” Lamp said.

New Directions also offers legal advocacy for domestic violence survivors, either assisting with protection orders or collaborating with law enforcement and law enforcement education, Lamp said.

Mount Vernon Police Chief Robert Morgan said his agency is seeing a lot more domestic violence prosecutions throughout the county.

Morgan said domestic violence calls are “one of the most dangerous, calls we go on” due to the high emotional scenarios.

Original Source: Grant Ritchey, Knox Pages. Click here for original post!

The pathologist who performed Ellen Greenberg’s autopsy in 2011 said in a legal filing he now believes her manner of death “should be designated as something other than suicide.”

The cause of death of Philadelphia school teacher Ellen Greenberg, who was found brutally stabbed in 2011, will be reinvestigated after a pathologist who previously ruled her death a suicide reversed course last week.

Greenberg was 27 when she was found dead on Jan. 26, 2011, with a kitchen knife lodged in her chest. She was discovered in the Philadelphia apartment she shared with her fiancé, Samuel Goldberg.

Goldberg had returned home from the gym that evening to discover he was locked out of the apartment because the swing bar lock was engaged from the inside. He eventually was able to force the door open, found Greenberg and called 911, according to the Philadelphia medical examiner’s investigation report.

She had 20 stab wounds, including 10 to her neck and head, according to her autopsy report.

Police said they observed no forced entry into the apartment, no defense wounds and no evidence of a struggle and said it appeared Greenberg died by suicide.

The ME’s office initially ruled her death a homicide and later reclassified her death as a suicide in March 2011 — a decision her family disagreed with.

Ellen’s parents, Joshua and Sandra Greenberg, had filed two civil lawsuits against the city. On Monday, they reached a settlement before jury selection that will lead to Greenberg’s manner of death being re-investigated.

Marlon Osbourne, who performed Greenberg’s autopsy, said in a sworn verification statement filed Friday that he now believes “Ellen’s manner of death should be designated as something other than suicide,” NBC Philadelphia reported.

He said he changed his decision after he reviewed additional information in her police case file and after a consultation from Dr. Lucy Rorke-Adams, a pediatric neuropathologist, the station reported.

Attorneys representing the Greenbergs told NBC Philadelphia they were told the new review would be conducted expeditiously.

“Hopefully that will be a new investigation. All the information that we’ve acquired over the years will be presented. And I don’t see any reason they wouldn’t reach the same result that Dr. Osbourne gave,” said Joe Podraza, the Greenberg family attorney.

Sandra Greenberg told NBC Philadelphia after the settlement was reached: “I hope today we made Ellen proud of us, and we were certainly very proud of her as her parents. It’s monumental; for 14 years we’ve been dealing with this suicidal label.”

The city of Philadelphia Law Department confirmed that the settlement includes an independent review of the autopsy file and “an express waiver of any claims that might be brought as a result of that process.”

Original Source: Marlene Lenthang, NBC News. Click here for the original post!

 

Her family knew something wasn’t right when Joanna Lewis’ Oct. 6, 2011, death was quickly ruled a suicide after a brief investigation by Solano County law enforcement.

They noted her husband, former pastor Mark Wayne Lewis, had a history of domestic violence against Joanna. But it wasn’t until 2014, after he was was charged and pleaded no contest to arson following a firebombing of his ex-girlfriend’s house, that authorities agreed to open an investigation into Joanna’s death.

Now, 14 years after her death, the Hunter family has gained at least some measure of acknowledgment in a new law that took effect on Jan. 1.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 989 on Sept. 27, 2024, putting “Joanna’s Law” on the books. It was was sponsored by Alliance for HOPE International, a nonprofit that helps victims of domestic violence, and is regarded as the first statute in the country to set standards for addressing and investigating suspicious death cases where the victim dies after a prior history of domestic violence.

Immediately after the signing, Alliance President Casey Gwinn reportedly said, “Today, we made history in memory of Joanna Hunter.”

The law requires first responders and investigators to undergo training and possibly help to identify staged suicides, which can lead to killers going free. It takes advantage of new research that helps investigators understand when a crime scene has been staged. It also helps ensure that investigations into suspicious deaths are handled properly.

In a Facebook post, the Alliance for Hope International — a social service group that works to create communities of safety, hope and healing for survivors of domestic and sexual violence — touted the new law and a statewide training video created with the Sacramento Family Justice Center and the Sacramento Police Department to train professionals in the handling of suspicious death cases. Their post explained that the organization “is still awaiting compliance with Joanna’s Law by Solano County but a lawsuit may be necessary.”

Joanna’s mother, Patricia Hunter, a retired local teacher, and brother Joe Hunter (a Sacramento Fire captain) are featured in the video urging those who investigate such cases to check for documented history of domestic violence and demand that scenes in such cases be properly investigated as potential homicides.

Patricia shared a link to the video on her Facebook page saying, “We are now able to share this with you. It is the result of Joanna’s Law becoming a reality, thanks to so many who have worked to make this happen. We honor you, dear Joanna.”
It is not the only time that Patricia has spoken out on what her daughter endured. In a Feb. 26, 2014, Reporter story, she remembered the last time she spoke with her daughter, who she said had “lied about all the abuse” and hung up the phone. A month later, Joanna Lewis was dead at age 36.

At at meeting of the Vacaville Soroptimist organization, she shared that Mark Lewis was convicted of spousal abuse on her daughter in the early 2000s, which then-Superior Court Judge Peter Foor confirmed during a hearing. Lewis pleaded and served probation for the abuse charge.

Patricia Hunter told The Reporter she was unsure how many visits over the years her daughter made to the hospital to treat her injuries. She did know of three, however, and said her daughter had grown “increasingly isolated” after her marriage to Lewis in 2000.

For whatever reason, her daughter remained in the relationship with Lewis despite the obvious signs of physical abuse and also, very likely, emotional abuse.

Patricia Hunter told the Soroptimists, “Sometimes, like in my daughter’s situation, very loving people, very caring people are drawn to people who need help.”

In the training video for SB 989, produced with the help of the Sacramento Police Department, the Hunters, Casey Gwinn, president of the Alliance for Hope International, Gael Strack, CEO of the Alliance for Hope International, and others note that the family of the person who dies under suspicious circumstance should be interviewed.

They also cite 10 factors that may lead investigators to consider the death a homicide: 1) The person died prematurely or in an untimely manner; 2) The death scene appears to result from a suicide or accident; 3) One partner wanted to end the relationship; 4) There was a history of being victimized by domestic violence that included coercive control; 5) The person was found dead in a home or place of residence; 6) The person was found by a current or previous partner; 7) There was a history of being victimized by domestic violence that included strangulation or suffocation; 8) The current or previous partner of the person who died or their child was the last to see the person alive; 9) The partner had control of the scene before law enforcement arrived; and 10) The body of the person was moved, or the scene or other evidence was altered in some way.

In the video, David Cropp, of the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center and a retired sergeant detective with the Sacramento Police Department, advised first responders to check for a family history of domestic violence.

The full video can be viewed on the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center’s YouTube channel.

Original Source: Richard Bammer, The Mercury News. Click here to view original post! 

In an effort to reduce Kentucky’s ranking as one of the worst states for domestic violence homicides, the attorney general’s office recently released guidelines intended to help victims separate from perpetrators who are most likely to kill.

Attorney General Russell Coleman released a comprehensive manual last week that lays out the steps that need to be taken by medical professionals treating strangulation victims, as well as how officers should investigate these cases and how district attorneys should prosecute them.

The manual was more than a year in the making and is the next step toward implementing Kentucky’s 2019 law that made domestic violence by strangulation a felony. The act was previously considered a misdemeanor, despite research showing strangulation is the highest indicator of a subsequent murder.

The thought used to be that all abusers are equal, but “they are not,” Coleman said while unveiling the manual at the University of Kentucky. “When a man puts his hands around a woman’s neck, he has just raised his hand and said ‘I am a killer.’”

In 2020, Kentucky ranked 10th nationally for the rate of women killed by men, with 82% of female victims killed by someone they knew.

In Louisville alone, at least 16 people were murdered by domestic partners in 2022.

If a woman is strangled by her partner, she is 750% more likely to later be killed by that partner, according to the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention.

Additionally, data shows people who strangle are the most likely to kill police officers. In 2017, 33 of 44 officers shot to death in the line of duty nationwide were killed by a perpetrator with a public record history of at least one nonfatal strangulation incident, the institute found.

“The people who strangle are some of the most dangerous criminals we face,” Coleman said.

Research showing the correlation between strangulation and murder dates back to the mid-1990s, but Kentucky was one of the last states to pass a domestic violence strangulation law in 2019 — with Ohio and South Carolina the only remaining states that had failed to do so at the time. Ohio later passed a version of the law in 2023, and South Carolina legislators have introduced a bill to do so this session.

Despite Kentucky’s slow approach to changing the law, it is the fourth state to establish a strangulation manual, which will be distributed to police departments, sheriff’s offices and prosecutor offices across the commonwealth.

The manual, created with help from the Training Institute, is geared toward helping every official who comes in contact with a strangulation victim, “all the way through to a conviction,” said Rewa Zakharia, criminal chief of the attorney general’s office.

“From the moment an officer meets a victim, (the manual) helps them figure out the right questions to ask, the right evidence to collect,” Zakharia said.

For example, she explained, officers should work to figure out if a victim’s voice is raspy as proof that she has been strangled and know which questions to ask to determine if she’d lost consciousness. Such evidence can help prosecutors successfully convict perpetrators.

Beyond helping law enforcement — who, research shows, are in danger when responding to strangulation cases — the manual provides guidance to emergency responders and medical professionals who treat strangulation victims.

It is important that they also know which questions to ask, Zakharia said, given most of these victims will not have any visible external injuries. Death from strangulation can also occur days or weeks after an attack, research shows, due to internal injuries to the neck that can later cause strokes.

“I think it’s really great for Kentucky to be on the forefront of this — a lot of times we’re known not to be on the forefront of things that impact Kentuckians every day,” Zakharia said of the manual. “To not just focus on a prosecution or an investigation, but to look at it from every aspect, is really something.”

Casey Gwinn, co-founder of the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention, called the manual “a good start,” but work needs to be done to ensure it is used.

Creating it and releasing it “doesn’t mean anyone will read it,” Gwinn said. Moving forward, Kentucky leaders “need to start aggressively prosecuting strangulation cases as felonies.”

Original Source: Krista Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal. Click here to view original post!