Have you ever taken off your condom while you were having sex with your partner without them knowing? This is called stealthing. And if you thought it was completely harmless, you are very much mistaken: it can be considered sexual assault. Some lawyers even consider it to be surprise rape.
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This kind of act can have psychological consequences, and be very traumatic for your partner. And then there are the physical consequences: unwanted pregnancies, STIs... All these elements can have serious after-effects.
Is stealthing considered rape?
In Switzerland and Canada, removing a condom during sex without telling your partner is considered rape. Other countries, on the other hand, are having difficulty legislating on the issue.
However, here is a definition of rape:
Any act of sexual penetration of any kind committed against another person by violence, coercion, threat, or surprise.
In order to reclassify this assault as rape, the courts would have to retain the notion of ‘surprise.’ Lawyer Antonin Paillet explained:
Legally, the notion of surprise (...) consists of a stratagem or device intended to induce the error of the victim who, as a result, is unable to give informed consent.
Today, the biggest problem in this kind of assault is proving that the condom removal was not consensual. But if you have ever been subjected to such a practice, know that you are a victim of sexual assault.
Watch our video above to find out how to find the right size condom for you.
