The ban makes the possession of sexually violent content punishable by up to three years in prison and includes porn “acquired electronically” that features violence that appears to be life threatening or likely to result in serious and disabling injury.
"I very much welcome the announcement that the possession of the most extreme and violent forms of pornography will become a criminal offence,” Minister David Hanson said explaining his decision to extend the law to Northern Ireland. “This kind of material, which often depicts serious violence particularly against women, is unacceptable and I fully support these new provisions which are vitally important in tackling this issue."
Though producing extreme adult websites has been illegal in Britain for years, viewing such sites has not, until now.
The law was passed due to the vigorous campaigning of Liz Longhurst, the mother of slain schoolteacher Jane, who was murdered by a man who later admitted to having a seven-year addiction to violent porn, including necrophilia and asphyxial sex.
Jane Longhurst was strangled by Graham Coutts in 2003 with a pair of her stockings. He hid the victim's body for a month, the BBC reported, before setting fire to it. Shortly after disposing of the body, Coutts admits to searching the web for the same violent content that had driven him to murder in the first place. He was sentenced in 2004 to life in prison.
Liz Longhurst gathered 50,000 signatures and rallied members of Parliament for a 30-month period before the law passed.