My Lords, I rightly praise the Government and the Prime Minister for making this change. It shows real leadership. I speak for so many in saying thank you for taking that recommendation on board.

This Amendment to ban depictions of strangulation in pornography has raised awareness more widely of how out of control online pornography has become and how it is affecting real life behaviour. I am not easily shocked these days, but I was very shocked by the example given by my friend, the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, of how those carrying out post-mortems are now having to be trained to look for signs of strangulation. That says it all.

For years, campaigners have fought to expose the dangers of strangulation and suffocation in pornography, acts that have been dressed up as erotic and liberating when in truth they are life-threatening. This is disproportionately affecting young women. I want to recognise those voices, especially Professor Clare McGlynn, whose persistence has brought us to this moment. I also thank my team. Without their determination, this change would not be happening. I pay tribute to my dear friend the late Lady Newlove, who began this journey when she pushed through law and raised awareness of non-fatal strangulation as the hideous controlling crime that it is. They are undoubtedly linked.

I have spoken to many senior police officers who are delighted with this change, which gives them yet more ability to charge people. The officers I have spoken to, who are very involved in offences of violence against women and girls, are keen to start charging perpetrators more with this kind of illegal pornography. It will help to build up data around that connection between crimes of a sexual nature and pornography of this nature, as we spoke about in previous debates.

This is not just another amendment. It is a lightbulb moment, a recognition that what has been normalised for too long is neither safe nor acceptable. Again, I refer to my friend, the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron. This must not be the new normal, and I thank the Government for recognising that. For too many women and girls this has meant fear, injury and trauma. There is no safe way to strangle someone, let us be clear. Reports coming into the review would say that teachers were having boys saying in sex education lessons, “How do I safely strangle my girlfriend?”. One school did an extraordinary session on how to safely strangle your partner. What the absolute you-know-what? I hope this will put an end to the crazy place that we have managed to get ourselves to.

Enforcement will be key. I will not reiterate what I have said before, but right now it is unacceptable that there is no central place to report problematic content to ofcom, whether it is strangulation, rape porn or other banned material. The industry cannot be left to self-regulate. The noble Viscount, Lord Colville, mentioned that in a previous debate. There must be clearer and much faster mechanisms to take down this kind of material. In my review, I recommended that a separate body should be appointed to conduct audits and proactive spot checks on platforms that host pornographic content. It should work with Ofcom to expediate reports of lack of compliance. This body could also be a key driver and convener for safety tech, which we know needs leadership and direction from government —which the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, could not know more about.

An accreditation scheme should be set up so that it is clear to the users—public, government, banks and payment providers—which companies are compliant. From recent polling we know that a great many regular porn users do not want to encounter abusive and prohibited content. Such an infrastructure might be good for business. I do not particularly want that, but ultimately that is where change happens.

The Government’s key manifesto pledge to halve violence against women and girls within the decade is a very noble aim, and I am determined to help them succeed in that. We will soon have their strategy on how they plan to do this. I just want to reiterate that no plan serious about prevention can ignore online pornography and where we have got to. Of course we need better policing of rape and domestic violence, but also of the material that legitimises it. Banning depictions of choking and strangulation porn is a very good start, but it is by no means the end.

This is about more than law; it is about a culture, and saying with one voice that violence is not intimacy and harm is not entertainment. This is a moment to protect women and girls particularly, because it disproportionately affects them, but as someone said in an earlier debate: a big shout-out for the fact that men are also affected by this violence and, obviously, this violent porn. We need to build an online world that reflects our values, not our worst instincts.