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In February 2021, several news outlets reported that California Assembly Member Cristina Garcia had put forward legislation that, if passed, would make it illegal to remove a condom without consent, during sex. On Feb. 9, for example, the Sacramento Bee published an article with the headline Removing a condom without consent could lead to civil damages under California bill. The article stated that: Similar articles were published by the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. Those reports were accurate. Assembly Bill (AB) 453, would change California civil code to specify that stealthing — engaging in sexual contact involving a penis after unilaterally removing or damaging a condom without a sexual partner's consent — is included in the definition of sexual battery. The law would not introduce criminal penalties for stealthing, but it would leave perpetrators open to being sued for damages. Here's how the nonpartisan legislative counsel for the California Assembly has summarized AB 453, which Garcia introduced on Feb. 8, 2021: That existing law is Section 1708.5 of the California Civil Code, which can be found here. Among other provisions, Section 1708.5 stipulates that sexual battery takes place when a person: Section 1708.5 also sets out the possible consequences for sexual battery, as follows: A person who commits a sexual battery upon another is liable to that person for damages, including, but not limited to, general damages, special damages, and punitive damages. Finally, Section 1708.5 defines offensive contact as contact that offends a reasonable sense of personal dignity, and defines intimate part as the sexual organ, anus, groin, or buttocks of any person, or the breast of a female. Garcia's legislation, AB 453, would change that existing law in the following ways:
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