Closing the Consent Loophole in North Carolina’s Rape Law
North Carolina is the only state in the country where a woman cannot revoke consent to have sex once sex has begun. Sounds nuts, but it’s true.
Amber Barwick, with the NC Conference of District Attorneys, explains the current state of the law:
In North Carolina v. Way, 297 N.C. 293 (1979), the Supreme Court granted a new trial for a defendant who had been convicted of second-degree rape because the judge erroneously instructed the jury that “consent initially given could be withdrawn and if the intercourse continued through use of force or threat of force and the act at that point was no longer consensual this would constitute the crime of rape.” This case directly prohibits prosecutors in North Carolina from charging a suspect for continuing to have sexual intercourse with a victim who has changed his or her mind, even if that means the suspect used force or threat of force to continue this sexual act. Until this case is effectively overturned by legislative action, prosecutors and law enforcement agents will continue to turn away victims of sexual offenses even when those victims changed their mind and said “no.”
That means if a woman initially consents and sex turns violent, the man cannot be prosecuted for rape — even if he admits that she had clearly withdrawn her consent. (This problem also exists for the question of male rape and our bill would address both situations equally.)
Law enforcement officers have declined to take out charges because of this law. Prosecutors have declined to prosecute because of this law. Recently, a jury in Wake County found a defendant not guilty because of this law. It is a real, live problem.
Here are some articles about the need to close this loophole:
North Carolina Legal Loophole Prevents Women From Withdrawing Consent to Sex
‘NC is the only state where no doesn’t mean no’: Law says women can’t back out of sex
Our View: ‘No’ should really mean ‘no’
In North Carolina, No Is Not Always No, If The Sex Has Already Started
Questions of consent can make NC sexual assault cases harder to prosecute
Fixing this has been on my to-do list since joining the state Senate. This is the fourth time I have filed this bill. It has not yet been allowed a hearing in committee.
This year could be different. Our bill has strong bipartisan support with several Republican co-sponsors, for which I am grateful.
If and when this bill is allowed to come to a vote, I expect it will pass unanimously. This really should be a non-partisan no-brainer.
It would help to show legislative leadership how much demand there is to close this loophole. You can sign our petition here.
