'It is rape': New Queensland law targets stealthing and consent

Men who "stealth" and take off condoms during sex without the other person's knowledge or consent will be charged with rape if law reforms in Queensland, which also crackdown on what constitutes consent, are passed.

Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath said the bill introduced an affirmative model of consent which required free and voluntary agreement to participate in a sexual activity.

New South Wales, Victoria, ACT and Tasmania all already have affirmative consent laws, which put the responsibility on each individual participating in a sexual act to take steps to say or do something to check the other person is consenting.

READ MORE: How a spot of gardening almost cost Glenn his arm

Queensland's amendments to consent also "expressly recognise" that non-consensual condom removal, known as "stealthing", was rape, D'Ath said.

The bill also expands the list of circumstances where there is no consent.

D'Ath said the law was informed by a special government task force which heard from survivors of sexual violence "who said they were traumatised by the offence and then re-traumatised by the justice system".

Without affirmative consent laws, a sexual encounter is only considered a sexual assault if the perpetrator knows the other person involved did not consent.

This means in court the onus is on the victim to indicate how they showed they did not consent. Experts say this leads to victim blaming as their behaviour is scrutinised.

D'Ath said the task force found sexual offence laws were often misunderstood.

Based on numerous accounts from women who gave testimony to the task force, D'Ath said it was clear that "rape myths and stereotypes, including narratives of 'implied consent', still feature heavily in trials".

READ MORE: Incredible photos of aircraft carrier wake show urgency of US support for Israel

The reforms in the new law include introducing an affirmative model of consent and jury directions in sexual offence trials designed to address rape myths, she said.

"Failing to use, or interfering with a condom, strikes at the heart of a person's right to bodily autonomy and their right to choose whether and how to participate in a sexual activity.

"It is rape and we are changing our laws to reflect this."

One in three women and one in five men in Australia have been victims of stealthing, according to a study by Monash University and the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre.