California moves to outlaw ‘stealthing,’ or removing condom without consent

By DON THOMPSON | The Associated Press

SACRAMENTO  — California lawmakers moved to marque the authorities the archetypal to outlaw “stealthing,” which is removing a condom without support during intercourse.

Legislators sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a measure connected Tuesday adding the enactment to the state’s civilian explanation of intersexual battery. It makes it amerciable to region the condom without obtaining verbal consent.

But it doesn’t alteration the transgression code. Instead, it would amend the civilian codification truthful that a unfortunate could writer the perpetrator for damages, including punitive damages.

Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia has been pushing for the authorities since 2017, erstwhile a Yale University survey said acts of stealthing were expanding against some women and cheery men. Her archetypal measure attempted to marque it a crime.

But legislative analysts said astatine the clip that the enactment could already beryllium considered misdemeanor intersexual battery, adjacent if it isn’t specifically referenced successful the transgression code. But the analysts said it is seldom prosecuted, if lone due to the fact that of the trouble successful proving that a perpetrator acted intentionally alternatively of accidently.

Analysts this twelvemonth said Garcia’s measure would region immoderate ambiguity successful civilian law.

Garcia said the enactment tin origin semipermanent carnal and affectional harm to its victims.

Lawmakers successful New York and Wisconsin antecedently projected related legislation, but Garcia said California would beryllium the archetypal to marque it illegal. Her measure passed successful California this twelvemonth with nary opposition.

“It’s disgusting that determination are online communities that support and promote stealthing and springiness proposal connected however to get distant with removing the condom without the consent of their partner, but determination is thing successful instrumentality that makes it wide that this is simply a crime,” Garcia said successful a statement.

Her measure has enactment from the Erotic Service Providers Legal Educational Research Project, which said it could let enactment workers to writer clients who region condoms during different consensual sex.

Also Tuesday, the authorities Senate moved to dainty the rape of a spouse the aforesaid arsenic the rape of a non-spouse. The measure removes an exemption to the rape instrumentality if the unfortunate is joined to the perpetrator.

California is 1 of 11 states that separate betwixt spousal rape and different forms of intersexual assault. The bill’s supporters said the favoritism lingers from a clip erstwhile women were expected to obey their husbands.

Those convicted of spousal rape presently tin beryllium eligible for probation alternatively of situation oregon jail, though determination is nary quality successful the maximum penalties. Those convicted of spousal rape besides indispensable registry arsenic enactment offenders lone if the enactment progressive the usage of unit oregon unit and the spouse was sentenced to authorities prison.

The measure passed, 36-0. It returns to the Assembly for a last ballot earlier lawmakers adjourn for the twelvemonth connected Friday.