U.S. Legislators Want to Classify ‘Stealthing’ as Rape

Two U.S. legislators are seeking to pass legislation that would classify the practice of “stealthing” as rape.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday requesting that it hold a hearing so its members can better understand and discuss legal actions victims of this practice can take, BuzzFeed News reports.

According to the New York Post, “stealthing” is when “a man removes his condom during intercourse without consent from his partner.”

Recent Yale Law School graduate Alexandra Brodsky coined the term in a paper published in the April issue of the Columbia Journal of Gender and Law in which “she argued that it should be treated as a form of sexual assault.”

In her paper, Brodsky explained the origin of the term when she mentioned an online community that encourages men to “spread one’s seed” and “stealth” their sexual partners.

Khanna and Maloney wrote in their letter that victims of stealthing can suffer from mental and emotional trauma, STDs, and unplanned pregnancies.

“Nonconsensual condom removal during sexual intercourse is a disgraceful practice that is incredibly dangerous for victims,” Khanna and Maloney wrote. “We believe this issue calls for swift action to solicit testimony from experts in the field and begin considering policymaking options.”