'Stealthing' could finally be made a crime in America

If this bill is passed

Stealthing could become a crime in America
(Image credit: Garo/Phanie/REX/Shutterstock)

If this bill is passed

Since 'stealthing' was introduced into our vocabulary (it's the horrific act of someone removing a condom during sexual intercourse without their partner knowing), the public have been rightly reacting that this isn't a sex trend, it's a crime.

Some countries in Europe (including the UK) already deem it so, but in America, it doesn't count as sexual assault yet.

But now, the Wisconsin Democrat, Melissa Sargent, is proposing a bill that would define it as so.

The bill will states that 'if an actor removes a sexually protective device such as a condom before or during sexual intercourse or other sexual contact without his or her partner’s permission, there has been no valid consent to that act.'

This bill will mean that people will understand exactly how to define this act, which has previously been felt as hard to describe. Although some see it similar to rape as it is an action done without someone's consent, others are too unfamiliar with the term to place it.

Here's to hoping the bill gets passed and more people become aware that any act on another person without their explicit consent is a crime.

Delphine Chui