Stealthing: Second jurisdiction looks to criminalise ‘repugnant, disgusting act of betrayal’

South Australia could become the second jurisdiction in the country to criminalise a sex act that’s been dubbed “a repugnant and disgusting act of betrayal”.

Stealthing — the non-consensual removal of a condom during sex – has become a focus for South Australian political party SA Best, with MLC Connie Bonaros looking to introduce new laws into parliament on Wednesday.

If the private members Bill – titled the Criminal Law Consolidation (Stealthing) Amendment Bill — is passed, stealthing will be legally categorised as a sexual assault.

A maximum penalty of life imprisonment could apply to those found guilty under the proposed legislation.

Ms Bonaros dubbed the act “a repugnant and disgusting act of betrayal” that had “life-changing” ramifications.

She said stealthing should have been criminalised years ago and didn’t believe the Bill would be opposed by her fellow parliamentarians.

“Stealthing is more common than most people believe, with a recent study revealing that one in three women and one in five men who had sex with men had been the victim of stealthing – that’s a shocking statistic,” Ms Bonaros said.

“You can’t begin to imagine the level of damage to both a person’s physical and psychological wellbeing.

“Such grotesque acts of indecency deserve to be treated in the same manner as rape and a crime punishable by terms of imprisonment.”

The ACT made stealthing a crime last week — the first jurisdiction in the nation to do so.

The new laws that passed on Thursday identify the act as one of sexual assault.

Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee brought the Bill forward.

“Stealthing is a traumatic thing for any person to go through and I am very proud that the ACT has passed nation-leading reforms to specifically criminalise this heinous act,” she said.

“Stealthing is an appalling thing to do to anyone … It violates bodily autonomy in the most intimate of moments and victims have spoken about the impact that it has on their ability to trust people”.