The dangerous sexual trend of stealthing – a man removing the condom during sexual intercourse after agreeing to put it on –could soon be a criminal offence in the Philippines. A House Bill 3957 or Anti-Stealthing Law was filed in the House of Representatives by AKO BICOL Party-List Reps Alfredo Garbin and Elizaldy Co in the month of August. If the bill is passed into law, then stealthing can become a punishable form of sexual assault. What is Stealthing? New Creepy Sex Trend is as Dangerous as Rape and is a Punishable Sexual Offence.

The act of removing a condom during sex can result in dangerous consequences, leaving the person at risk of pregnancy or STDs. The bill was filed in the House of Representatives and the solons said, they want to prevent the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases (STD), as well as unwanted pregnancies. "A violation of this conditional consent is not rightfully considered a form of sexual assault," the bill reads.

The man will be penalised if he agreed to put on a condom first and thus lead to consensual sex. But during the sexual activity, if the condom is not used or removed without the consent of the partner, it can account to sexual assault. In a case of tampering the contraceptive even before the sexual activity, the person will still face charges. "With this bill, even children, teenagers, and seniors of any gender who are victims of sexual assault through stealthing may bring their offenders to face the police, prosecutors, and judges," the Minority Bloc congressman told in a report.

Those who indulge in acts of stealthing will be sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined P100,000 to P500,000. In a case of passing on an STD or impregnating the woman, a man will be sentenced to 20 years and fined P200,000 to P700,000. And those who purposely commit the act with the intention of getting their partner pregnant will face stricter punishments. They could land a maximum of 40 years in jail and be fined about P1 million to P5 million. In a case of forcing the partner to have sex after removing the condom, the stealthing partner will be held liable for rape and sexual assault. Apart from the Anti-Stealthing Law, it would be counted as a separate crime.

While the Philippines will soon have an anti-stealthing law, there are several countries where the dangerous sexual trend is already illegal. It is illegal in the UK, with consent being an important factor in the sex act. In the year 2017, A Swiss court also convicted a man for rape for an act of stealthing. In 2018, a first of its kind case of stealthing was prosecuted in Germany.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 26, 2019 04:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).