Does No Mean No in North Carolina?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In North Carolina, stop doesn’t really mean stop says Senator Jeff Jackson. The Democrat from Mecklenburg is trying to change that, to close what he calls a legal loophole, that doesn’t allow a woman to withdraw consent. “If a woman withdraws consent, if she says stop, it is time to stop. No questions asked. If you don’t, that’s rape,” he tells WCCB News @ Ten anchor Morgan Fogarty. He continues, “It’s just like if you invite someone into your house, you get to tell them when it’s time to leave, ” says Jackson.

Jackson says there is a pattern of rape charges being dismissed or not prosecuted because of a 1979 state Supreme Court case that says women cannot revoke consent after sex begins. In a 2010 dismissal in Mecklenburg County, prosecutors cited that case. They wrote that the victim told the suspect that “it hurt… and she told him to stop… and he did not…. while she continued to tell him to stop.”

But because she’d initially consented, legally, no rape occurred. The charge was dismissed.

Amy Guy’s rape case in Raleigh was also impacted by the old law. She says her estranged husband showed up drunk at her apartment and demanded sex in December 2016. She says, “Since he was getting angry, I thought it would be better to go ahead and agree to the sex, because I figured that was the safer thing for me to do.”

But she says the encounter turned violent. She says, “I began crying and I asked him to please stop.” He was initially charged with second degree rape, but because of the old law, the charges were lowered to assault on a female.

Mike Blackwelder works for Safe Alliance in Charlotte, a non-profit that provides rape crisis services. He says loopholes like this prevent victims from coming forward. He says this to lawmakers: “Think about your wives and your family and your daughter. Would you ever want this situation to come up with them?”

Fogarty asked Jackson, “Have you heard any opposition from anyone you’ve spoken to?” He replied, “I’ve heard no opposition from anyone about this. Law enforcement says it’s a problem. prosecutors say it’s a problem. Clearly domestic violence groups, women’s advocacy groups, say it’s a problem. All the legislators I’ve spoken to in both parties agree this does not make any sense. And yet, the bill did not pass.”

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, a Republican from Rockingham County, could advance Jackson’s second “Revoke Consent Bill” out of committee next session. Fogarty asked Berger if he supported SB553. An aide emailed back on Berger’s behalf and said, in part, “It may be worth asking Sen. Jackson why he says N.C. law ‘doesn’t allow a woman to revoke consent,’ when if someone were to revoke consent, then the act would be taking place ‘against their will’ which is illegal under current law.”

Jackson’s response? “The general assembly has, on numerous occasions, passed bills to clarify the legality of one town’s tradition of lowering a possum in (a) box to ring in the new year after adverse court rulings put the tradition in jeopardy. I struggle to see how possum dropping is worth more legislative attention than ensuring that victims of rape are not denied justice.”

Jackson says North Carolina is the only state in the country where a woman cannot revoke consent. He says this is not a partisan issue – and he says he is confident legislators will “do the right thing.”

24/7 crisis hotline numbers: Mecklenburg and Lake Norman Domestic Violence Crisis Line: 704-332-2513, Mecklenburg and Lake Norman
Rape Crisis Line: 704-375-9900.