A man in Switzerland has been convicted of rape after he secretly removed a condom during sex without his partner's permission. Switzerland's highest court has decided that his actions violate their established laws on consent. This landmark decision by the Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne sets an important precedent: that having sex after tampering with or removing a condom after the use of a condom was agreed upon and expected constitutes being convicted of rape.
At a time when the United States Senate is considering the appointment of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General — a man who is demonstrably unconcerned about decreasing violence against women — this decision's ideological impact is particularly important to discuss. Even more directly, this case has specific implications for Julian Assange: the WikiLeaks leader whose name you heard a great deal during the election is currently dodging the charges lobbed against him after he was accused by two women of removing condoms without consent.
As Broadly reports , the unnamed year-old man was convicted of rape after he met his partner on Tinder, began having consensual sex with her later on, and then "removed the condom at some point without her knowledge or approval.
For anyone doubting the validity of a rape charge under these circumstances, the UK law is clear. Under UK law, the removal of a condom without consent from one's partner constitutes as a clear sexual offense. The law, Broadly reports, actually makes mention of Julian Assange.
Ring notes that Section 74 of the "Sexual Offences Act " describes the conditional consent law using Julian Assange as an example. From Broadly , the law reads: "his [Assange's] conduct in having sexual intercourse without a condom in circumstances where she had made clear she would only have sexual intercourse if he used a condom would therefore amount to an offence under the Sexual Offences Act Although this case isn't a United States Supreme Court case, the conversation surrounding the "conditional consent" at work in this case could be beneficial for US lawmakers.
