California becomes the first state to outlaw “stealthing,” a removal of condoms without consent during sex.
Lawmakers have recently sent a bill proposing California’s civil definition of sexual battery to the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, who would amend the civil code.
If approved, this will allow the victim to sue perpetrators for damages for removing a condom without verbal consent.
Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, who has been pushing for the legislation since 2017, posted on Twitter and wrote, “It makes it clear that ‘stealthing’ or removing a condom w/out permission isn’t just immoral, but it’s illegal.”
My bill #AB453 is on its way to the Gov's desk, hopefully he'll sign it & lead for the nation. It makes it clear that ‘stealthing’ or removing a condom w/out permission isn't just immoral, but it's illegal. @CAgovernor pic.twitter.com/zOZiw08aQF
— Cristina Garcia (@AsmGarcia) September 8, 2021
The bill was originally pushed during the result of Yale University study that said acts of stealthing were increasing against both women and gay men.
“It’s disgusting that there are online communities that defend and encourage stealthing and give advice on how to get away with removing the condom without the consent of their partner, but there is nothing in law that makes it clear that this is a crime,” Garcia said in a statement.
According to a study in 2019 conducted by the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health that 12% of women ages 21 to 30 had a partner engage in stealthing and one out of three women and one out of five men have been victims globally.
Lawmakers in New York and Wisconsin also proposed related legislation, but Garcia said California would be the first to make it illegal. Her bill passed in California this year with 36-0 votes.
As of writing, legislators who backed the bill await Newsom’s signature.
Source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB453, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1171, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30826133/, https://apnews.com/article/health-crime-california-gavin-newsom-70b533b891fc5a146f779e27077a4e5a
