Police investigate death of teenage girl two days after alleged ‘sexual choking’ act in Sydney

Officers called to northern beaches home on Sunday evening before 16-year-old dies in hospital on Tuesday night after what source says was sexual strangulation act

New South Wales police are investigating the death of a 16-year-old girl after a suspected sexual strangulation act.

Police said emergency services were called to a home in Elanora Heights in Sydney’s northern beaches on Sunday evening in response to a welfare concern report.

NSW Ambulance paramedics found the teenage girl unresponsive. She was treated at the scene before being airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.

“Officers attached to northern beaches police area command commenced an investigation into the incident,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.

A source informed about the case said the teenager was believed to have become unconscious as a result of asphyxiation during sexual intercourse, often referred to as “choking” . No arrests have been made.

The federal social services minister, Tanya Plibersek, said on Thursday she was “extremely worried” about the rise of sexual strangulation among young people. The minister said almost 60% had reported experiencing choking in 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 said the government’s social media ban for under-16s and the introduction of age verification for pornography would “help a bit with this” but, she noted, children were “spectacularly good at getting around these rules”.

The independent federal MP for Warringah, Zali Steggall, said the “devastating news” underscored the need for a national education campaign “to tackle misogyny and teach respectful relationships”.

Steggall told ABC radio on Thursday a rise in sexual strangulation was being “led by pornography [and] manosphere content on social media”.

She criticised what she described as a “go slow, weak response that is so incredibly frustrating while people are exposed”, and called for the implementation of a duty of care from social media platforms.

“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.