Stealthing as a form of rape – findings to date and future prospects for research

Abstract

Stealthing or non-consensual condom removal (a situation in which one sexual partner, not necessarily a man, removes or damages a condom during intercourse and the other partner remains unaware of this fact) is a new phenomenon that has only recently been addressed by researchers. This article offers a summary of findings regarding the motives and methods of perpetrators’ of stealthing and attempts to analyse this phenomenon from the perspective of Polish criminal law. Finally, it discusses the prevalence of the offences of rape and its subtypes and outlines the key issues involved in the quantitative analysis of rape.