A man was tried by the lower court in the Netherlands last year for rape. He was alleged to have removed a condom during sex - this is known as ‘Stealthing’.
“The case was tried as rape because, the public prosecution department said, in removing the condom the man had subjected his bed partner to a form of sex she had not consented to.” The man received a 3 months suspended sentence.
“On Thursday, the appeal court in The Hague said it “it could not be proven that the accused secretly removed the condom during the voluntary vaginal sex and acquitted the accused on this basis.”
“The couple had met on line and the woman had said she had only consented to sex with a condom. But this too, the court said, could not be proved, and Whatsapp messages between the two did not provide sufficient evidence.
The court did not rule on the question of whether stealthing can be qualified as rape or coercion within the Dutch penal code.”
www.dutchnews.nl/2024/08/man-not-guilty-of-rape-for-removing-condom-during-sex/
I’m not quite sure what I think about this. It almost seems as if they are saying it can never be a crime, as it can’t really be proven. No witnesses usually to coitus, so if a woman says a man secretely removed his condom, then they say that can not be proven. The woman said she had only agreed to sex with a condom. They say that cannot be proven, even though she is stating this to be so. No recognition of ‘stealthing’ in Dutch law.