Liberal leader Kellie Sloane says the time for inquiries is over, declaring allegations of sexual violence involving children as a “wake-up call for every adult”.

Describing the death of a 16-year-old girl from Sydney’s northern beaches in a suspected choking act during sex last week as “a tragedy”, Ms Sloane has written to the Albanese government to introduce a UK-style ban on pornographic images depicting strangulation or suffocation.

Ms Sloane said it was concerning that young people were being exposed to sexual violence online without understanding how dangerous the behaviour they are seeing can be.

“We have had the inquiries, we have the evidence and we have seen the consequences. Now governments need to act,” she said.

“When pornography depicts an act capable of causing brain injury, unconsciousness or death, it should not be treated as just another form of adult entertainment. The Commonwealth has already been told by its own independent review that this material belongs in the most serious category of harmful online content. The NSW Parliament has backed that approach. The next step should be legislation.

“We cannot wait until another family is living through a tragedy before we take seriously what our children are being taught by pornography. Allegations of sexual violence involving children should be a wake-up call for every adult. We need to be asking what young people are seeing, what they think is normal and where those ideas are coming from.”

Ms Sloane’s plea comes amid growing calls among experts for urgent education for young people on the risks, and for social media companies to restrict harmful content.

Last year, the UK criminalised the possession or publishing of pornography depicting strangulation, with a legal requirement placed on tech platforms to prevent users from seeing the explicit material.

Collective Shout movement director Melinda Tankard Reist said the women’s advocacy group was looking at a potenital campaign to see how Australia could follow the UK and outlaw pornography depicting strangulation, warning the practice had become “increasingly normalised” during sex.

Earlier this week, NSW Police revealed they were investigating the death of a 16-year-old girl at a home in Elanora Heights on Sydney’s northern beaches after a suspected choking act during sex.

Police have not yet laid any charges in relation to the girl’s death.

Ms Tankard Reist said the latest incident was a “tragedy”, adding that she had spoken to thousands of women who had experienced choking during sex.

“Just recently a woman told me that a man put his hands around her neck without even asking,” Ms Tankard Reist said.

“Violent pornography is helping normalise the behaviour among young men and this is why Collective Shout is calling for Australia to follow suit with the UK and ban this vile content.

“The most popular genres of pornography are the most violent, including the choking and strangulation genres.”

“Some boys just expect that, one, they have a right to strangle women, and two, that actually it’s what women want.”

Ms Tankard Reist rejected descriptions of incidents involving serious injury as simply sexual encounters gone wrong.

“This isn’t a so-called sex act gone wrong. This is younger men wanting to enact acts of sexual violence on a partner, and then use the rough sex defence.”

She said the risks were so serious that consent could not be treated as “sufficient justification”.

“You can’t consent to something that might kill you or leave you brain damaged.”

In 2024, research by the University of Melbourne and University of Queensland found 57 per cent of Australians aged 18 to 35 had experienced strangulation during sex, with 51 per cent reporting they had strangled a partner.

University of Melbourne Law School Professor Heather Douglas, who was part of the research team, said the survey of almost 5000 people raised serious concerns about consent and the potentially hidden harms of strangulation.

“A lot of people said that they’d got proper consent the first time they used it … But then their partner had assumed that consent carried on for subsequent activities of strangulation,” Prof Douglas said.

She said strangulation could cause brain injury, blood clots and death, even without visible injuries.

“You can become unconscious between 10 to 15 seconds, and you can die within one to three minutes,” she said.

“About 50 per cent of strangulations, even when they result in unconsciousness, don’t leave a mark.

“I feel like education is a key element in this space, making sure young people understand the real dangers with strangulation.”

Teach Us Consent founder Chanel Contos said the latest incident was not the “first tragedy” of its kind, and would not be the last.

“Young people deserve education about the realities of pornography so they can have a critical lens when they inevitably encounter this content and understand it for what it is – adult entertainment and not a script for sex,” Ms Contos said.

“Mainstream pornography routinely depicts violence against women – slapping, strangling, and other abuse – while showing women as enjoying or accepting it.

“This sends the message that violence and degradation are the desirable default in sex.”

The consent advocate and educator said many young girls had described being strangled without any conversation or consent.

Federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the government would continue to monitor the UK’s reforms, as well as Commonwealth offences and sentencing laws, together with law enforcement, to ensure they keep pace with technological change, emerging crime trends, operational needs, and community expectations.

“I acknowledge the tragic loss of the 16-year-old girl who allegedly died by strangulation at the hands of her partner,” Ms Rowland told The Sunday Telegraph.

“The government is deeply concerned about harmful online content including violent pornography as a driver of harmful sexual behaviours and gender-based violence.

“The government will continue to monitor the United Kingdom’s reforms, as well as Commonwealth offences and sentencing laws, together with law enforcement, to ensure they keep pace with technological change, emerging crime trends, operational needs, and community expectations.

“Importantly, we have taken strong action to help protect Australian children from a range of age-inappropriate content that can be harmful to their health and wellbeing. This content includes pornography and material that shows high-impact violence, or encourages disordered eating and self-harm.”