The Metropolitan Police says stealthing is a slang word but the practice is legally considered rape, although prosecutions are rare due to under-reporting, external, as many do not realise it is an offence.
In October, a University College London (UCL) survey, external showed just over one in 10 people aged 18-25 did not consider non-consensual condom removal to be sexual assault.
Andrea Simon, executive director of End Violence Against Women and Girls, says although sex can start off consensually, if someone violates that consent by removing a condom, it is considered rape and it can be prosecuted as rape.
“It’s very hard to know the prevalence of stealthing, as not many people may understand it as actually an act of sexual violence or a crime,” she explains.
“It’s really important that men, in particular, understand that it’s criminal behaviour to intentionally remove a condom during sex without consent and we know that it speaks very much to men’s sense of entitlement over women’s bodies and it’s a violation of women’s bodily autonomy.”
The issue was explored in the fourth episode of drama I May Destroy You in 2020, where the main character Arabella has sex with a man who removes the condom without her knowledge.
Arabella doesn’t realise it’s rape until she hears it discussed on a podcast.
