Around one in 10 young adults are either not sure or do not believe removing a condom without consent during sex is a crime, according to what is said to be the first UK study on views of so-called “stealthing”.

The phrase refers to non-consensual condom removal and the act is classified as rape under English and Welsh law.

In what University College London (UCL) said was the first UK study of its kind, 1,729 people aged between 18 and 25 were asked for their views on what researchers described as an emerging “sex trend”.

Actor Michaela Coel
Michaela Coel’s TV series I May Destroy You was credited with raising awareness of stealthing (Ian West/PA)

Popular BBC drama I May Destroy You, written by and starring Michaela Coel, was credited on its release in 2020 with raising awareness of the issue of stealthing when the main character becomes a victim of the offence.

But while this new research shows most survey respondents (99%) considered non-consensual condom removal to be wrong, a lower proportion classed it as a crime.

Approximately 88% said it was sexual assault when presented with a range of scenarios, with the rest feeling it either was not a crime or saying they did not know.

The survey respondents were given different hypothetical situations to consider, involving a couple who were dating long term and a pair who had just met on an app.

Views differed both with regard to the type of relationship and depending on consequences such as pregnancy or the victim becoming depressed.

Despite rape carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, support among respondents for an offender ending up in jail was lower.

Just over half (52.1%) felt the offender should go to jail if their actions resulted in the victim getting pregnant, while 41.6% said they should be behind bars if the victim ended up depressed.

Support was higher for an offender being jailed if the non-consensual condom removal happened as part of a casual encounter (53.9%), but fell to less than half (47.2%) if it happened in a long-term relationship.

The peer-reviewed study, published in the Plos One journal, had mainly female respondents.

When adjusted to take account of this, the research suggested men were less likely to view it as sexual assault than women, at 83.0% compared with 91.4%.

The researchers accepted their study was limited by the sample of respondents being dominated by university students and Instagram users and made up of mainly white and cisgender people but they said as the first study of its kind in the UK, its “quantitative approach and large sample size offer valuable insight to begin to address research gaps in this area”.

Senior author Dr Geraldine Barrett, from UCL’s EGA Institute for Women’s Health, said: “Non-consensual condom removal during sex, sometimes called ‘stealthing’, has recently emerged in the public and legal spheres as a ‘sex trend’.

“Given that they are in control of the condom, it’s really important that young men understand that it’s not just a sex trend, it’s a crime.

“We hope our findings will help inform future sexual health campaigns and legislation to tackle this phenomenon to provide much-needed support for those affected.”

Dr Barrett said she felt overall it was “quite positive how many people did view it as wrong” and that the percentage who considered it sexual assault was “quite high”.

Echoing this, lead author Dr Farida Ezzat said: “Regardless of outcome or relationship status, the overwhelming majority of respondents believed the non-consensual condom removal is a violation of consent to sex, morally wrong, and criminal.”

In June, the Metropolitan Police said they would “continue to raise awareness that this crime is a form of rape” after Guy Mukendi, 39, of Brixton in south London, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison for taking a condom he was wearing off without consent during sex.