Misogyny is running rampant throughout American politics especially in 2017.
First with the GOP making rape, depression, abortion, miscarriages, and menstrual cycles pre-existing conditions that could hinder millions of women from receiving the healthcare coverage they need, and now North Carolina that passed a law in 1979 that prohibits a woman from stopping sexual intercourse once it has begun has resurfaced and is prohibiting rape victims from pressing charges against their attacker.
Under the North Carolina law, a woman can not claim raped even if she changes her mind and begs her abuser to stop. Jeff Jackson a Democratic state senator that represents Mecklenburg County is diligently working to have this heinous law reversed. “Legislators are hearing more and more about women who have been raped and are being denied justice because of this crazy loophole,” Jackson said. “North Carolina is the only state in U.S. where no doesn’t mean no.” Jackson has proposed Senate Bill 553, that would make it a criminal offense for the failure to stop intercourse when a woman has originally consented but changed her mind. But with the end of the General Assemble session drawing near, the bill will more than likely be dead for the remaining of the two-year session.
“Legislators are hearing more and more about women who have been raped and are being denied justice because of this crazy loophole,” Jackson said. “North Carolina is the only state in U.S. where no doesn’t mean no.”
And that is the most frightening sentiment. To tell a woman that she has no right to change her mind regarding the consent of sex is not only ignorant, but it’s dangerous. Women are raped at an alarming rate. With One in four women falling victim to sexual assault and the increase in alcohol-related rapes, this law is providing a way for a rapist to seemingly get away with a crime. No women should ever feel like she has no option to choose and this law, if enacted, does just that.
One victim of the heinous law is Aaliyah Palmer. The first to go public about her case, Palmer met her abuser through the dating app, Tinder, when she was invited to a party by her date. She agreed to go to the party and felt comfortable because in the first apartment there were tons of other women. Her date them brought her into the second apartment where she consented to sex in the bathroom. But during the intercourse, her date became violent and began putting his hands on her. Palmer states that she began screaming “You’re hurting me! Stop!” But he refused. “It’s really stupid,” Palmer, 19, said of the law. “If I tell you no and you kept going, that’s rape.” But unfortunately, not in North Carolina.
“It’s really stupid,” Palmer, 19, said of the law. “If I tell you no and you kept going, that’s rape.” But unfortunately, not in North Carolina.
Because she had consented to the act initially, Palmer’s abuser was able to avoid any penalties for his act.
The men in power right now seem to forget that many of them have wives, sisters, and daughters, people often overlook things until it hits close to home and I pray that this isn’t the case. #NoMeansNo and we need to keep it that way.
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