CW: Sexual assault
The South Australian Government has announced it will support legislation to criminalise ‘stealthing’ – the removal of a condom during sex without consent.
The Bill will classify stealthing as unlawful conduct under the state’s sexual offence laws.
It was introduced by Connie Bonaros, an Upper House Member for the SA-BEST Party.
How common is stealthing?
A Monash University study in 2018 found that one in three women and one in five men who had sex with males had experienced stealthing.
It can cause both psychological and physical harm, from unplanned pregnancies to anxiety or depression.
The legislation
South Australia’s Attorney-General Kyam Maher said “these changes will make it perfectly clear that [stealthing] is an illegal activity that can be punished under the full weight of the law”.
Laws to criminalise stealthing have already been passed in the ACT, Tasmania, Victoria, and NSW.
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