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North Carolina Is the Only US State Where Women Can’t Withdraw Consent After Intercourse Has Begun

The rape loophole has left many devastated

No means no, or does it?

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In North Carolina, unfortunately, it’s not quite so black and white when it comes to the law and consent. 

A 1979 state supreme court ruling says that continuing to have sex with someone, even after they withdraw their consent, isn’t considered to be rape. 

That’s right: if you initially agree to have sex with someone, and they partway through become aggressive and violent and you say you no longer want to go through with it, it’s not rape. 

“North Carolina is the only state in the country where no doesn’t really mean no,” State Senator Jeff Jackson, who has introduced a legislation to amend the law, said in a statement.

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“We have a clear ethical obligation to fix this obvious defect in our rape law.”

This May, North Carolina woman Amy Guy revealed that the law had prevented prosecutors from charging her husband with rape, after a violent attack in which she repeatedly resisted. 

Amy had separated from her husband when he turned up at her door demanding sex. He had been violent in the past, so she agreed. But before long, he became aggressive and Amy told him to stop. He ignored her.

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Due to the law, Amy’s husband got off the rape charges she pressed against him and was only found guilty of being violent towards her. 

“I was devastated,” Amy said in an interview, as reported by The Guardian. “That did not make any sense. I was taught that no means no and it’s not really true.”

Thankfully, the new bill Senator Jackson is pushing which will change the law is likely to pass.

“I believe this bill will inevitably pass, and when it does, my bet is it passes unanimously,” he said. “No one can seriously defend this loophole in our rape law. We have a clear ethical obligation to fix this obvious defect in our rape law.” 

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