New Washington bill could make 'stealthing,' described as akin to rape, a penalty
New Washington bill could make 'stealthing,' described as akin to rape, a penalty
Concerns of ?stealthing,? which has been described as ?akin to rape,? have made it to the legislative floor. One Washington lawmaker is hoping to soon make the act illegal.
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Concerns of ‘stealthing,’ which has been described as ‘akin to rape,’ have made it to the legislative floor. One Washington lawmaker is hoping to soon make the act a civil penalty.
‘Stealthing’ is the act of secretly removing or tampering with a condom or other protective device during sex without the consent of the other partner or partners. It also encompasses other barriers like cervical caps, spermicides, dental dams for oral sex and other forms of internal contraceptives.
House Bill 1958 would add a new chapter to the Code of Washington that would make the act of stealthing a civil penalty.
"Three years ago, I was stealthed by a man who I consented to have protected sex with, meaning only after explicitly requiring a condom. After, I was shocked to see the condom had been removed during the act. I did not consent to unprotected sex and I felt deeply violated," one woman testified in favor of the bill in Olympia. "In the weeks that followed, I experienced deep anxiety about unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. I missed work to see my doctor for testing."
Bill sponsor Rep. Liz Berry (D-36), said she had a friend come forward and share her experience of being stealthed, so she did more research and said she realized it was much more prevalent than she initially thought. Her research led her to sponsor the bill, calling the act ‘akin to rape’.
"Stealthing is akin to rape. As I looked into it, I realized that so many people in the world are in my world have been touched by this practice and I think this bill will give them a voice. You give consent to have sex with a sexually protective device and if that is tampered with or removed intentionally, that is a form of you're not consenting to that behavior," Berry said.
The bill would be a civil penalty, so those found guilty would be issued as a statutory fine and damages per violation. Survivors can also seek attorney's fees and costs as well. It would be a civil matter, not a criminal one.
An issue raised by opponents questions whether it would be difficult to prove that stealthing had taken place.
"Unfortunately, this is a lot of ‘he said, she said, they said, they said’ or we do not have any proof because the proof has already been disposed of," said Rep. Peter Abbarano.
"You are right-- a lot of that does come down to ‘he said, she said,’ but that is recognized under WA statute as a valid form of testimony and credibility is also key," said Elizabeth Hendren of the Sexual Violence Law Center in response.
HB 1958 is headed for another meeting next Thursday morning when lawmakers in the Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee could decide to continue the conversation on the measure or kill it altogether.