One in 10 young people don’t know removing a condom without consent during sex is a crime, study shows

‘Non-consensual condom removal during sex, sometimes called ‘stealthing’, has recently emerged in the public and legal spheres as a ‘sex trend’,’ report author says

Researchers, who say their study is the UK’s first piece of research into stealthing, found around half of those polled support prison time as a punishment (UKHSA)

Around one in 10 young adults do not believe or realise that taking off a condom without asking for consent during sex is against the law, a first-of-its-kind study has found.

Non consenually removing a condom during sex, something known as “stealthing”, puts the partner at risk of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies. It is classified as rape under English and Welsh law.

Researchers from University College London (UCL), who say their study is the UK’s first piece of research into stealthing, found around half of those polled support prison time as a punishment, while 99 per cent deemed stealthing to be wrong.

Dr Farida Ezzat, the study’s lead author, said: “Regardless of outcome or relationship status, the overwhelming majority of respondents believed the non-consensual condom removal is a violation of consent to sex, morally wrong, and criminal.”

The study, published in PLOS, found around half thought the perpetrator should go to prison if the condom removal led to the victim falling pregnant, while around four in 10 said the offender should be imprisoned if the victim winds up depressed.

Researchers polled 1,729 people between the ages of 18 and 25 living in the UK.

In the UK there have been three recent rape convictions due to non-consensual condom removal. However, little is known about the attitudes of young adults in the UK

Dr Geraldine Barrett

The report mainly polled women, with researchers saying their study was limited by the fact so many university students and Instagram users were polled and the sample predominantly comprised of white and cisgender people.

Dr Geraldine Barrett, the report’s senior author, said: “Non-consensual condom removal during sex, sometimes called ‘stealthing’, has recently emerged in the public and legal spheres as a ‘sex trend’.

“In the UK there have been three recent rape convictions due to non-consensual condom removal. However, little is known about the attitudes of young adults in the UK.

“We hope our findings will help inform future sexual health campaigns and legislation to tackle this phenomenon to provide much-needed support for those affected.”

It comes after a man was imprisoned for taking a condom off without consent during sex earlier in the year.

Guy Mukendi, 39, of Brixton in south London, was sentenced in June to four years and three months in prison, the Metropolitan Police said. He was arrested following a report of sexual assault made by a young woman in Brixton on 9 May last year. 

The Met said the woman had consented with Mukendi on condition that a condom was used. But during sex, he removed the condom without the victim’s consent or awareness.

Text messages seen by the jury at Inner London Crown Court showed Mukendi saying he had done it because he had not had sex in a long time.

The first successful conviction for stealthing in England and Wales took place in 2019 - with Lee Hogben, from Bournemouth, imprisoned for 12 years for raping a sex worker. She had consented to have sex previously as long as he wore a condom - with this condition for her clients explicitly stated on her website.