TW: Stealthing/Sexual Violence/Assault

The Scottish Government feels the legal provisions it has in place for prosecuting and educating about stealthing are sufficient. We fundamentally disagree. We are fundraising to aid our campaign.

Stealthing, the non-consensual removal or tampering of a barrier method of contraception before or during a sexual encounter, is a serious form of sexual violence which can leave an enormous lasting impact on individuals who have experienced it. However, the law on stealthing is ambiguous - the police don’t even track for cases of stealthing or non consensual condom removal (NCCR). No one has ever been prosecuted or convicted for stealthing in Scotland. Without specific legislation, victim-survivors are left in a legal grey area and are often left to cope without adequate support. In fact, many victim-survivors are not even aware that what they experience is all too common and a form of sexual assault.

The Scottish Crime Recording Standard’s Crime Recording and Counting Rules (April 2021) - a document noting how and what Police Scotland prosecute -, is over 450 pages long. Within this, stealthing is afforded only two ambiguous sentences, outlining that ‘reports should initially be recorded as Rape [...] pending further investigation’. Therefore, there is no way of knowing about the number of reports of stealthing made in Scotland, let alone the number of those that were subsequently turned into cases. How can the government claim that current legislation regarding stealthing is sufficient?

As found in our report, the law does not explicitly criminalise the act. This leaves a great deal of confusion to victim-survivors and perpetrators, where it goes underreported due to misunderstanding surrounding its legality. One individual shared that they felt their perpetrator could not be stopped ‘because of the discrepancy in the law’, allowing them to continue stealthing ‘many other [people]”’.

CERT argues that stealthing must be explicitly criminalised in Scots law so as to provide for victim-survivors. A specific law would remove all legal ambiguity and provide a way for those who experience stealthing to seek justice if they so choose. Our demands are echoed by our findings: 93% of survey respondents believe stealthing should be against the law.

We have been working with MSPs and legal advisories behind the scenes, but feel it is time to make this campaign public and refuse government complacency. Through our campaign, we will engage with the public and increase awareness of stealthing and its prevalence, a topic that is both overlooked and disregarded by Police Scotland and the Scottish Government’s multiple consent campaigns. Through working with our communities, we will raise awareness and build a collective, inclusive approach to tackle this form of sexual violence. This will not only show that the government’s current solutions are gravely insufficient, but it will contribute to the building of a supportive, understanding network for victim-survivors. We implore anyone and everyone to share our campaign with their contacts, so we can educate against and end stealthing, and ultimately one more barrier between us and a world where sexual violence of all kinds is prevented.

Donate only if you can. This will go towards publicising our campaign with ads, posters, stickers, announcements, events etc. Please reach out if you'd like to know more.

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