OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state law may soon allow people to sue sexual partners who have removed a condom or other sexually protective device without their consent.
The Senate Law and Justice Committee passed several bills Tuesday morning, including a bill to allow civil lawsuits in cases of stealthing. Stealthing, under the bill, is defined as the tampering or removal of sexually protective devices without a sexual partner's knowledge or consent.
Several women who had consensual sex, but later learned their partner either lied about or tampered with sexually protective devices, described the anxiety and worry the experience caused them. One woman said she had a baby as a result of the experience.
References to stealthing commonly include the nonconsensual removal of condoms, but can include a number of sexually protective devices.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline states stealthing "is a form of reproductive coercion, which is defined as threats or acts of violence against a partner’s reproductive health or reproductive decision-making."
In 2021, California became the first state to make stealthing illegal.
Republicans previously filed an amendment to include birth control pills and IUDs under the definition of the devices listed in House Bill 1958, but those amendments were voted down by the Democrats on the committee.
The bill states that in cases of stealthing, a plaintiff may use a pseudonym and not their real name when bringing forth a civil lawsuit. It also states that a court may award compensatory or punitive damages or statutory damages of $5,000 per violation, among other options.
If passed, the law would take effect July 1.