Sydney: Teen Girl Dies From Suspected S*xual Choking in Australia, Probe Launched
Police in Sydney are investigating the death of a 16-year-old girl who passed away in hospital following a suspected case of choking during s*x at an Elanora Heights home. The tragedy has reignited calls from consent advocates and health experts warning about the severe, often hidden dangers of s8xual strangulation among young people across Australia.
Police in Sydney are investigating the death of a 16-year-old girl in a suspected case of choking during s*x, according to local media reports. On Sunday about 17:45 local time, emergency services were called to a home in Elanora Heights in Sydney's Northern Beaches where the girl was found unconscious.
Police confirmed she was treated at the scene before being airlifted to Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition but died on Tuesday night, August 25, BBC reported. It is understood she passed out after being choked during s*x. S*x Doll Mistaken for Murder Victim After Being Found in Abandoned Suitcase in Australia.
Police have not disclosed how the girl died or what her injuries were but police sources have told several local news outlets - including the national broadcaster ABC and the Sydney Morning Herald - that she was believed to have been choked during s*x.
S*xual consent advocate Chanel Contos said the girl's death was "likely preventable" and that po*nography companies "have blood on their hands". "Mainstream po*nography routinely depicts violence against women - slapping, strangling, and other abuse - while showing women as enjoying or accepting it," she said. "This is not the first tragedy of its kind and it won't be the last". Perth Shocker: Teacher Found Guilty of S*xually Abusing 12-Year-Old Student for Over a Year in Australia.
Contos, 28, founded the Teach Us Consent organisation in 2021 after she prompted a nationwide conversation about consent when hundreds of young people said they had been s*xually assaulted during their school years. She said there's no safe way to engage in choking during s*x, despite recent research showing some young people believe the act is risky but safe.
"Even when young people believe they are consenting, they're often uninformed about its potential consequences, which are fatal at worst, and can cause permanent brain injury even when there are no visible signs of harm."
Experts say s*xual strangulation has become more prevalent among young people in Australia despite the impacts including headaches, memory loss, brain damage and in rare cases, death.
A 2024 report by the University of Melbourne and University of Queensland found that more than half (57%) of Australians aged between 18 and 35 had been strangled during s*x at least once.
The survey of 4,700 young people also found that one third of those who had been choked during s*x were between 19 and 21 year old when they first experienced it.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 27, 2026 08:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
