The nation’s fastest-growing herpes dating website and community, Meet Positives is shining a light on the disturbing practice of non-consensual condom removal or, as it is colloquially known as, “stealthing”, its impact, and what the nation’s and world governments are doing to fight it.
The origins of the word stealthing go as far back as 2010 when it was used to refer to the malicious act of purposefully infecting one’s partner with a sexually transmitted infection by not disclosing one’s positive status. However, the word soon became commonly used in the broader population’s lexicon to also mean discreetly removing a condom while in the act. Damaging a condom to force a pregnancy is also considered stealthing. According to a 2018 study by a Melbourne-based sexual health clinic, 32% of women and 19% of MSM (men who have sex with men) reported having experienced stealthing.
There are several reasons why men, and even women to some extent, engage in stealthing which range from troubling to downright predatory. Some insist that it is just a way to enhance sexual pleasure. In case the partner engaging in stealthing knows they have an STI, the implications and motivations are even more upsetting as transmission can result in a lifelong affliction for the person who was sexually violated. Some also use it as a way to get themselves or their partners pregnant to entrap them in a relationship that the other might not be so keen about.
Meet Positives CEO expresses his view on the sensitive topic by saying, “There are no two ways about it. Stealthing is a breach of trust between two consenting individuals. By engaging in it, you are not only betraying your partner but also putting them at risk of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies. At Meet Positives, we have particularly strong views about it because of how far-reaching and disastrous the consequences can be for the victim. Over the many years that I have overseen the growth of the Meet Positives herpes dating platform, I have heard countless stories from our thousands of members who are facing the stigma of living and trying to find love with an STI. Hearing these heart-wrenching accounts of a life forever changed, I have always supported bringing broader awareness to the issue and even making provisions in our laws to unequivocally identify it as what it actually is – sexual assault.”
Many parts of the world consider stealthing to be a form of sexual violence and the act is punishable as such. California was the first in the country to codify the practice as illegal in the state’s laws. Most recently, the state parliament of Victoria, Australia, passed new laws adopting an affirmative consent model which makes clear that stealthing is a crime. Courts in other countries around the world such as Canada, Germany, and Switzerland have also brought charges and found perpetrators guilty of committing acts such as poking holes in condoms, using defective condoms, and removing the condom during sex.
Meet Positives is a safe space for victims of stealthing who are now looking for companionship after their diagnosis. The app makes it possible for STD-positive singles to have honest romantic conversations with others who will accept them regardless of their condition. The platform boasts a user base of thousands of STD singles all over the country and it even has a global audience with users in countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia. USA Today called the website “The New Face of STD Dating.” The platform matches members by HSV, Herpes, HIV, HPV, STD, and STI in their local area or the area they select.
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Readers looking for the best dating website for people with herpes can log on to Meet Positives on any device of their choice including desktop, mobile, and tablet. The dating website also has an Android app that is currently in beta and an iOS version is on the way.
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For more information about Meetpositives.com, contact the company here:
Meetpositives.com
Michael Task
(855) 747-2031
support@meetpositives.com
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