‘Stealthing’ could soon be banned in WA under bill passed by House
A sexual practice known as stealthing could soon be punishable in Washington state under a bill that passed the House chamber with a bipartisan vote on Wednesday, Feb. 7.
Stealthing is removing or tampering with a sexually protective device, such as a condom, before or during intercourse without a partner’s consent. It is considered a form of rape and treated as such in some places.
House Bill 1958 is sponsored by Rep. Liz Berry, D-Queen Anne, and passed off the debate floor with a 64-33 vote. Berry’s bill is more expansive than laws in other states and adds dental dams, spermicides, cervical caps, and other devices used to prevent pregnancies and the spread of disease to the list of barriers that cannot be removed or tampered with.
Berry told House members that the bill would create a pathway to justice for survivors of sexual assault, and noted that up until the 1990s there were states where it was not illegal for a person to rape their own spouse.
“Of course today we think this is preposterous because we better understand what it means to consent,” Berry said. “Consent to sexual activity must be informed, it must be enthusiastic, and it must be ongoing.”
Berry said the bill would allow sexual assault survivors “to be compensated for the real harm that is done to them by stealthing.”
Under the bill, a person who has been the victim of stealthing would be able to bring a civil case against the perpetrator. Perpetrators could face a $5,000 penalty per violation. The bill also creates room for a court to consider previous findings of liability regarding non consensual removal against a perpetrator, and allows courts to award court fees and attorney’s fees to the petitioner.
The bill also notes that “evidence that the plaintiff consented to previous sexual contact or penetration without a sexually protective device does not by itself establish consent to any subsequent sexual contact or penetration without a sexually protective device.”
Two amendments were proposed by Republican leader Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, but neither amendment was adopted. One of the amendments would have added “intrauterine devices (IUDs) and hormonal birth control methods” to the list of sexually protected devices, while the other amendment would have added the “knowing” or intentional removal of a device in order for plaintiffs to seek a civil cause of action.
Others spoke out against Berry’s bill on the debate floor.
Rep. Michelle Caldier, R-Gig Harbor, said she was voting no but “the sad part” was that she “actually wanted to vote for it.”
“And the reason why is because I believe in equity for both men and women,” Caldier said.
She said that while she agreed it is awful when a man removes a sexual device such as a condom, that the bill itself did not address the situation when a woman secretly stops using birth control.
“If a woman goes into a relationship and tells the man that they have an IUD — even if they do at that time — what happens if they remove it three months later and they want to get pregnant and the man doesn’t want to, and she lies to him? With our current system, that man is on the hook for child support.”
Had Walsh’s amendments been adopted, Caldier said she would have voted in favor.
“But the sad part is we cannot say that we want to protect women when we don’t want to protect men,” Caldier said.
The bill now heads for the Senate. If passed and signed by Gov. Jay Inslee, the law would go into effect on July 1.
Some countries such as Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom already have laws on the books against stealthing. In the UK, penalties are stiff, and can carry a maximum sentence of up to life in prison.
In 2021, California became the first state in the U.S. to ban stealthing.
This story was originally published February 7, 2024 at 1:41 PM.
