Canada's top court criminalises removal of condoms mid-intercourse

Ottawa: The Supreme Court of Canada on Friday ruled that the removal of a condom during sex without the permission of a partner is a crime, Asian News International reported, citing a report by The New York Times.

The court made the ruling, which was voted 5-4, in a case where a woman agreed to sexual intercourse using a condom. During one of her sexual intercourse with the man in the case, he removed the condom without her knowledge, and she was forced to take preventive HIV treatment later.

In the case, the accused, Ross McKenzie Kirkpatrick, was charged with sexual assault, but a trial court had quashed the charge on his name and accepted Kirkpatrick's argument that the duo's encounter was with consent, though he removed the condom.

But the British Columbia Court of Appeal overturned the ruling and ordered a new trial.

The court ruled that sexual intercourse without a condom is fundamentally and qualitatively different physical act than sexual intercourse with a condom.

Kirkpatrick's advocate argued that the new interpretation of the criminal code, which is going to be standard throughout the country, will change the rules drastically regarding sexual consent. This would make it almost a binding contract that could be signed in advance, the advocate argued, but the court ruled in the woman's favour.