Non-Consensual Condom Removal During Sex Is Now Punishable By Law In California
Yes, stealthing is now illegal in 1 state. 49 to go.
One has got to be a bit more careful when doing it in California from now on. It’s officially illegal to remove condoms during the act without the partner’s consent.
The act is rightly called ‘stealthing’. The governor of California signed a bipartisan bill into law last Thursday that outlaws non-consensual condom removal during sexual intercourse.
Stealthing is the act of removing a condom surreptitiously, either to achieve enhanced pleasure or to intentionally impregnate a woman. It’s been very common among prostitutes, and so far it’s been impossible to get to the court. Many sex workers have been subjected to stealthing, causing real or imagined pregnancies and STDs.
Stealthing is also very common outside the world of prostitution. Many teen pregnancies have been due to stealthing, a report says. In 2019, about 12% of women aged 21 to 30 reported experience with stealthing. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 homosexual men have been victimized by the act. In the same year, 10% of men came forward to confess that they had removed condoms during sex.
What does this law mean to the victim?
Victims in California can now go to court and seek a legal remedy for their assault. The law allows victims only to legally sue their offenders but does not allow for criminal charges to be filed, which has not made everyone concerned happy.
California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, who introduced the bill, has said the act is both immoral and illegal. She also thinks that if consent was broken, then it’s equivalent to rape or sexual assault. She still thinks stealthing should be regarded as a criminal offense punishable by the law similar to rape.
But the issue with considering the act as a crime looks impossible for now because the harm to the victims happens after they’ve consented to sex.
Is Stealthing only about pregnancies or STDs?
Absolutely not. It’s much more. Victims often experience feelings of betrayal, and many perceive it as a “severe breach of dignity and autonomy.” Many people, particularly those who have experienced sexual violence in the past, also feel emotional and psychological suffering.
What’s with stealthing in other countries?
Even in nations where stealthing is considered sexual assault, such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Germany, it is rarely punished, owing to the difficulty in demonstrating intent.
Final thoughts
1 down and 49 to go. Let’s hope the news spreads like a forest fire and reaches the ears of all the big fish in the other states. The law would now allow sex workers and others to sue their offenders who remove condoms and will ideally pave the way for additional legal protection for sex workers and other groups that are often neglected by the criminal justice system.
Sources: BBC and Wikipedia
