‘It is rape’: Stealthing criminalised in Queensland under new laws

Queensland will criminalise stealthing – the non-consensual removal of a condom during sex – under a suite of new laws introduced.

The act of stealthing — described as the non-consensual removal of a condom during sex – will be considered rape and attract a maximum penalty of life in prison under a suite of new laws introduced to Queensland parliament today.

One-in-three Australian women and one-in-five Australian men have been victims of the “insidious” act, according to a 2018 study by Monash University.

First reported by The Guardian, the proposed legislation will also seek to criminalise coercive control, and allow judges to inform juries of common misconceptions about sexual assault.

The Sunshine State joins Tasmania, NSW, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT in making stealthing illegal – a move that was one of 188 recommendations last year by Queensland’s Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce.

Stealthing – the non-consensual removal of a condom during sex – will be considered rape and attract a maximum penalty of life in prison in Queensland.

In its second report, tabled in December, the group recommended the state move “to an affirmative model of consent to better reflect community expectations of equality and mutual respect in consensual sexual relationships and to drive change in the way sexual offences are prosecuted and defended”.

“A person who practises ‘stealthing’ has changed the nature of the sexual act for which consent was given, is acting without consent, and should be prosecuted for the offence of rape.”

Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath said the new laws were designed to address rape myths, keep Queenslanders safe, and hold perpetrators account.

“The Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce heard from victim-survivors of sexual violence who said they were traumatised by the offence and then re-traumatised by the justice system,” Ms D’Ath said in a statement.

“[The] task-force found that sexual offence laws are often misunderstood, and rape myths and stereotypes, including narratives of ‘implied consent’, still feature heavily in trials.”

Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Interfering or tampering with a condom without someone’s knowledge or consent “strikes at the heart of a person’s right to bodily autonomy and their right to choose whether and how to participate in a sexual activity”, she added.

“It is rape and we are changing our laws to reflect this.”

Last July, Teach Us Consent CEO Chanel Contos gathered lawmakers from around Australia for a push towards national stealthing laws.

At the roundtable, the Attorneys-General and Supreme Court judges gathered to hear first hand from those who have fallen victim to the all-too-common practice.

Teach Us Consent CEO Chanel Contos has been instrumental in the push for nationwide stealthing laws. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gaye Gerard

In a piece for Marie Claire earlier this year, Ms Contos described the act as one of “normalised violence”.

“What I mean by this is that it’s a form of rape that is not understood by our society as rape and, because of ingrained male sexual entitlement, it occurs at an unknown scale without accountability,” she explained.

“Stealthing is an act that occurs when entitlement outweighs empathy. Law reform and awareness around this legislation can outweigh entitlement.”

No stealthing conviction is yet to be recorded in Australia.

Originally published as ‘It is rape’: Stealthing criminalised in Queensland under new laws