'Stealthing': what is it and why is this sexual practice so dangerous?

When we talk about sexual violence we refer to the moment in which a person maintains relations with another without their consent. In this sense, and in a very similar way, a practice called stealthing has been promoted for a few years among young people, which consists of removing the condom during sexual intercourse, without the consent of the partner, despite the fact that before intercourse They had agreed to use a condom.

According to experts, this habit is considered a sexual violation, since there is a risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or producing unwanted pregnancies.

For Eliécer Pérez Rivera, psychotherapist and family and couples psychologist, this act is a form of sexual abuse against the other. “It is a macho act and very dangerous due to the risks it entails, so there should be convictions or jail sentences for those who incur in it.”

At the same time, he added that in many countries laws are being made that prohibit this practice and a person is accused if the crime of stealthing is proven, ”he said.

A study by Alexandra Brodsky published in the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law, the Columbia University journal of Gender and Law, points out that “interviews with people who have experienced condom withdrawal indicate that this non-consensual practice is common among people young and sexually active,” the BBC reported.

Durex expert Alix Fox told The Huffington Post that this worrying trend occurs in both vaginal and anal sex.

'Stealthing': ¿qué es y por qué es tan peligrosa esta práctica sexual?

bills

The Governor of California, United States, Gavin Newsom, enacted a bipartisan law last October 2021 that prohibits the non-consensual removal of the condom or stealthing, according to the BBC.

The new legislation adds the practice to the state civil definition of sexual assault, making California the first state in the United States to make it illegal.

The law gives victims a clear legal remedy for the assault Doogan, who now lives in San Francisco, suffered decades ago.

And advocates say it marks a sea change for other survivors who, unlike Doogan, could now have their day in court.

“It is a macho act and very dangerous due to the risks it entails, so there should be convictions or jail sentences for those who commit it”ELIÉCER PÉREZ RIVERA, PSYCHOLOGIST AND COUPLE AND FAMILY THERAPIST.

"We wanted to make sure it's not just unethical, but illegal," said California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, who introduced the bill, according to the BBC.

British expert Tracey Cox explained to The Huffington Post that this practice "clearly violates conditional consent: there is a huge difference between agreeing to have sex with a condom and agreeing to do it without it."

“In the first case it is about protected sex, while the second exposes you to sexually transmitted diseases that the other person has, such as HIV, which is life-threatening, or chronic herpes,” in addition to an unwanted pregnancy.

In January 2017, a 47-year-old man in Switzerland was convicted of rape because he removed his condom while having sex with a woman he met on Tinder.

According to the RTS news agency, a criminal court in the country ruled that if sex with a condom was planned and then not used, it was sexual abuse. The man was placed on probation for a period of 12 months.

Experts believe that this practice has its origin in groups that considered they had the right to spread their genes, even though their sexual partners were unaware of the fact that they were at risk of becoming pregnant or infected by a disease.

Some of the subjects actively seek to cause a pregnancy. Other subjects carry out this practice to increase sexual pleasure. Another common reason is that the person takes it as a challenge that the partner does not notice the withdrawal of the condom, motivated by the risk of being discovered.

The need for prevention and awareness

According to experts from the site specialized in mental health, Psychology and Mind, in a large number of cases, both those who practice it and those who suffer it do not consider that a crime is being carried out or that their action is dangerous.

Many of the cases are not reported because some of the victims are unaware that it is a crime or even because they consider that having consented to sleep with the aggressor, the practice in question is also implicitly consented to.

Regarding the aggressor, many do not consider that they are breaking the law or carrying out an abuse, or they downplay their act.

This topic should be worked on at a multidisciplinary level. In addition to working at the legal level, it is necessary to establish prevention strategies that can avoid this type of non-consensual practice, inform about its risks and its seriousness, and raise awareness among the population about it, said the specialized health site.