Stealthing is the non-consensual removal of a condom during sex.
The Canberra Liberals are proposing changes to sexual consent legislation to outlaw a practice known as "stealthing".
Key points:
A new offence for removing a condom during sex without consent will be considered in the ACT Legislative Assembly
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee, who is introducing the stealthing bill, says a successful conviction overseas proves the merits of the new offence
Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury has indicated the Government would support a specific stealthing offence
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee said stealthing risks both physical and psychological health, including through transmission of sexually transmitted infections and disease, unplanned pregnancies, depression, anxiety and in some cases post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Stealthing is an appalling thing to do to any woman; any man; any person," Ms Lee said.
"It completely erodes the trust that a person can put in someone during the most vulnerable of moments.
"It is a violation of dignity and autonomy."
Ms Lee said the rape conviction of a man in New Zealand earlier this month after he removed a condom during sex without the woman's consent set a new legal precedent in that country, and the ACT too can "make it clear that stealthing will and should be illegal in the ACT".
The bill being presented by Ms Lee would amend current consent provisions under the Crimes Act to explicitly state that a person's consent is negated if it's caused by the intentional misrepresentation by the other person about the use of a condom.
"This bill is about making our laws clearer, our community safer, and making our voice loud and clear that no means no."
Study found a third of women and a fifth of men had been stealthed
A Monash University study of more than 2,000 people in 2018 found that, of those surveyed, one in three women and one in five men who had had sex with men had been stealthed.
The ACT Government sees the practice as already being illegal under existing law, however Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said there may be value in "putting this beyond doubt by creating an explicit definition of stealthing."
"A strong and clear criminal justice response to sexual offending is important, not only for victims and survivors but also the entire community," Mr Rattenbury said.
"Put simply, stealthing is rape.
"It is important that we have society-wide culture that understands and promotes sexual safety and consent."
A spokesperson for Canberra Rape Crisis Centre said the current law was still catching up to community expectations.
“Current legislation around sexual assault has not progressed at the speed of our society's evolution," the spokesperson said.
"It is a significant issue in the field of sexual assault - that law reform is constantly trying to catch up to the new ways people are targeted for harm."
The Centre hopes changes in legislation will mean sexual assault is no longer "the most under-reported crime in the community" and sexual assault rates will decrease.
"Changing laws does not change culture but if doing the wrong thing - in this case sexual violence - is made harder and there is a greater risk of being held to account by a strong legal framework, then rates of sexual assault will decrease in our communities," they said.
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