![\"Jack](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/7f32a709f91e1faa66bfacda80bb777543e07dcb3c4d95605354f4af55bc5de3.png\")
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Updated August 26, 2026 \u2014 6:46pm,first published 3:16pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Police are investigating the death of a 16-year-old girl on Sydney\u2019s northern beaches after a suspected choking act during sex.<\/p>\n The teenager died in hospital two days after emergency services responded to a concern for welfare at an Elanora Heights on Sunday night. They found the girl unresponsive.<\/p>\n She was flown to Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition, where she died on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n Two sources with knowledge of the case confirmed the teenager is believed to have engaged in a choking act during sex.<\/p>\n Warnings about sexual strangulation have increased amid scrutiny of violent online pornography, which experts say has warped young peoples\u2019 understanding of sex and normalised concerning behaviour.<\/p>\n Researchers at the University of Melbourne and University of Queensland reported in 2024 that about 50 per cent of young people had engaged in choking or strangulation during sex<\/a>, partly because many people mistakenly believe it can be done safely.<\/p>\n \u201cIt [sexual strangulation] is happening incredibly frequently, people are doing it regularly \u2026 and half the people are doing it at least several times,\u201d lead author Professor Heather Douglas said at the time.<\/p>\n \u201cBrain injury accumulates \u2013 the more times you are strangled, the greater the impact on the brain. I suspect there are probably a lot of young people with impacts on their brain as a result of this behaviour and that\u2019s incredibly concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n The NSW government\u2019s own submission to a recent parliamentary inquiry said depictions of sexual aggression including strangulation in pornography has been linked to increased intimate partner violence, citing research from 2017 by the federal government\u2019s Australian Institute of Family Studies.<\/p>\n Federal independent MP Zali Steggall, from the neighbouring electorate of Warringah, said the teenager\u2019s death underscored the need for a national education campaign to tackle misogyny and teach respectful relationships.<\/p>\n \u201cMy thoughts are with her family, friends and community at this incredibly difficult time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cPolice are investigating the circumstances of the girl\u2019s death and no charges have been laid. We must allow the legal process to take place.<\/p>\n \u201cRegardless of the circumstances of this particular case, the Albanese government itself has confirmed that rates of sexual violence, particularly amongst young people, are rising.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Albanese government must urgently roll out a national campaign ensuring young people receive ongoing sexual-health and relationship education.\u201d<\/p>\n Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Get alerts on breaking news as it happens. Sign up for our Breaking News Alert<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7deae8f3260c1aabd28e98c3a65ee929904bc3be.jpeg\")
The 16-year-old died at Royal North Shore Hospital on Tuesday night.Renee Nowytarger<\/p>\n![\"Jack](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/7f32a709f91e1faa66bfacda80bb777543e07dcb3c4d95605354f4af55bc5de3.png\")
Jack Gramenz<\/a> is a breaking news reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated August 26, 2026 \u2014 6:46pm,first published 3:16pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":868852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-868851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}