Removing condom without the explicit permission of the partner during sexual intercourse amounts to a crime, ruled Canada's Supreme Court. Condom use cannot be irrelevant, secondary or incidental, the court said in a significant order.
"Sexual intercourse without a condom is a fundamentally and qualitatively different physical act than sexual intercourse with a condom," the court said. The ruling was approved by 5-4 vote.
According to reports, the defendant, Ross McKenzie Kirkpatrick, met the complainant woman online in 2017. The two had sex twice in one night. The woman alleged that Kirkpatrick wore a condom for the first time, but not the second time.
Police charged Kirkpatrick with sexual assault. However, a trial court dismissed the charges saying there was no evidence to prove that the complainant had not given her consent or Kirkpatrick had acted fraudulently.
The British Columbia Court of Appeal, however, overturned the trial court ruling and ordered afresh trial in the case. Following this Kirkpatrick moved the Supreme Court.
"Condom use cannot be irrelevant, secondary or incidental when the complainant has expressly conditioned her consent on it," the top court ruled while dismissing Kirkpatrick's petition.