California lawmakers are looking to expand the state's civil definition of sexual battery.
Legislators on Tuesday sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a bill moving to outlaw the removal of a condom without consent during intercourse; an action known as "stealthing."
Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia has been pushing for the legislation since 2017, when a Yale University study found that acts of stealthing were increasing against both women and gay men, causing long-term physical and emotional harm.
The bill, which would make it illegal to remove a condom without obtaining verbal permission, would amend the current civil code to allow victims to sue their perpetrators for damages, including punitive damages.
Currently, stealthing is rarely prosecuted because of the difficulty in proving that the perpetrator acted intentionally instead of accidentally. Garcia's bill would remove this uncertainty.
If the bill is passed, California would become the first state in the nation to outlaw stealthing.
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