Police are investigating the death of a 16-year-old girl in Elanora Heights, on Sydney's northern beaches, after a suspected sexual strangulation act. Emergency services were called to a home on Sunday evening following a welfare concern report. Paramedics found the teenager unresponsive and treated her at the scene before airlifting her to hospital in a critical condition. She died in hospital on Tuesday night.
Officers from the Northern Beaches Police Area Command have commenced an investigation. A source familiar with the case said the teenager is believed to have become unconscious as a result of asphyxiation during sexual intercourse, often referred to as 'choking'. No arrests have been made.
Federal Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek expressed deep concern on Thursday about the prevalence of sexual strangulation among young people, citing a recent survey indicating that almost 60% of young people reported experiencing choking during a recent sexual encounter. 'I can't say anything obviously about this tragic situation in NSW, but in general terms, figures like that just concern me so deeply,' Plibersek told ABC radio. 'There is no safe way of choking someone. I'm pleading with parents and schools today to use every opportunity to have really direct conversations with young people. Kids are getting their sex education from pornography before they've had their first kiss.'
Plibersek noted that the government's social media ban for under-16s and the introduction of age verification for pornography would 'help a bit with this', but acknowledged that children are 'spectacularly good at getting around these rules'.
Independent federal MP for Warringah, Zali Steggall, called the news 'devastating' and underscored the need for a national education campaign to tackle misogyny and teach respectful relationships. She attributed the rise in sexual strangulation to 'pornography [and] manosphere content on social media', and criticised the 'go slow, weak response' of social media platforms, calling for a duty of care to be implemented. 'Could we just be real for a minute? 80% of kids are surveyed as having gotten around that age ban. So that is not protecting many people at all,' Steggall said.
Steggall also highlighted the importance of programs like Chanel Contos's 'Teach Us Consent' to give people more control over resetting the algorithms of their content. The police investigation is continuing.