CLDG (Week 4): The rough sex defence and non-fatal strangulation of women - are legal responses the right responses?

This paper examines two intersecting areas of interest: the so-called 'rough sex' defence that has emerged in response to killings (murder/manslaughter) of women, where the defendant seeks to argue the death occurred as a result of consensual rough sex; and the new offence of 'non-fatal strangulation' that was introduced in 2022. Both of these concern violence against women, an of which is sexualised, and in both cases there have been arguments that the law has an important role to play in addressing them. This paper considers these and presents data from a recent analysis of recorded non-fatal strangulation offences across English police forces in the first year of introduction.