Stealthing: criminal liability for non-consensual condom removal

Abstract

Condom removal without sexual partner’s knowledge and consent, popularly termed “stealthing”, differs from a typical rape in that the partner consents to the intercourse, although only with protection. Still, in this case, sexual consent does not encompass an intercourse without a condom, as it as an act of a different nature than the protected intercourse. This view is justified as follows: a condom constitutes a physical barrier against intimacy; the partners might be in a different mental state during the intercourse due to the increased risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases; condoms alter the physical sensation; and finally, condom usage is a material prerequisite of an intercourse to a significant proportion of the general public. Stealthing amounts to rape by deception pursuant to Art. 197(1) of the Polish Criminal Code, but only if, at the beginning of the sexual act, the perpetrator already intends to remove the condom later. If he spontaneously decides to remove the condom during the intercourse, then he is merely liable for breach of personal inviolability under Art. 217(1) of the Polish Criminal Code.