SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California became the first state in the country to make it illegal for someone to remove their condom during sex without their partner's permission.
Known also as "stealthing," the act refers to when someone removes or tampers with a condom during intercourse.
Cristina Garcia, the co-author of the bill, said she's been working on the issue since 2017. She says these cases are usually "swept under the rug."
"It's disgusting that there are online communities that defend and encourage stealthing and give advice on how to get away with removing the condom without the consent of their partner," Garcia said.
Garcia called for other states to pass similar laws to make it clear that stealthing is illegal as well as immoral.
A Yale University study called stealthing a "grave violation of dignity and autonomy" and that it's increasing against both women and gay men.
