According to public broadcaster NOS, there is no particular rule prohibiting stealing in the Netherlands, and these judgments are the first to address the practice. The culprit coerced the victim into tolerating unprotected intercourse with him through his acts. He violated the trust she had placed in him by limiting her personal freedom in this manner, the court said.
The suspect, a 28-year-old man from Rotterdam, pled guilty to coercion and was given a three-month suspended prison term and ordered to pay his victim 1,000 euros in damages. The man was acquitted of a rape charge, as the Dordrecht District Court, where the case was heard, ruled that the sex was consensual. The suspect sent the victim texts afterwards including one that said “you will be fine,” AFP reported, citing the court.
In a separate case, a 25-year-old man was cleared of charges after finding that he had not removed a condom at any time, but had instead failed to put one on altogether.
In an effort to spread awareness and persuade victims to submit police reports, a 2017 stealing victim who runs the Dutch website Stealthing.nl is collating anonymous testimonies from victims of the practice. "Cyberbullying and revenge porn were not considered A 28-year-old Rotterdam man who was the offender was given a three-month term with a suspended sentence and had to pay his victim 1,000 euros in damages after admitting guilt. The guy was exonerated from the charge of rape after the Dordrecht District Court, which heard the case, decided that the sex was consensual. According to AFP, which cited the court, the suspect texted the victim after the incident, including one that ended with, "You will be okay.".
In a different case, a 25-year-old man was exonerated of all charges after it was shown that he had never taken off a condom and had never even attempted to put one on. punishable at first either,” the site says. “I hope that my website will give other victims of stealing the strength to at least file a report so that we can eventually do something with this in the Dutch judiciary. “
According to a 2017 Yale study, both men and women have fallen prey to stealing. The study claimed that survivors reported feeling "a violation of trust and a denial of autonomy, not dissimilar to rape," in addition to putting victims at risk of STDs and unintended pregnancies.
However, victims of the practice still have few international legal protections in existence.
Recent years have seen comparable incidents in Germany, Switzerland, and New Zealand. A police officer was convicted guilty of sexual assault in Berlin in 2018 after removing his condom during sex without permission. He was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence and told to pay damages of close to 3,100 euros.
In the U.S., California became the first state to make it illegal to remove a condom without explicit consent in 2021. Stealthing is classified as a civil offence in California rather than a crime, and victims are able to sue perpetrators directly in civil court.