Late last year, my estranged husband brutally raped me.

When he came to my house -- angry and belligerent -- I initially consented to having sex with him because I thought it was safest to say yes. But he grew more and more violent, and I became more and more scared and uncomfortable. I begged and pleaded for him to stop, but he refused. He attacked me for more than an hour and a half. It was horrific, and no one should have to endure that.

Soon after, I pressed charges against him. But because of a North Carolina legal case in 1979 that says a victim can’t revoke consent after sex has begun, even if it turns violent, he wasn’t charged with rape. He merely pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor assault on a female, which resulted in roughly 10 months in prison.

North Carolina is the only state where ‘no’ doesn’t actually mean ‘no’ -- and this loophole remains. If this happened in Virginia or South Carolina, he would’ve been tried with rape, and he would’ve served a much longer sentence.

This is not acceptable. It’s not okay for me or the many others who have been or will be sexually assaulted in the future. It is not justice, plain and simple.

That’s why I’m asking you to help me, my attorney, Kris Hilscher, and Sen. Jeff Jackson hold rapists accountable.

Please sign this petition in support of a legislative bill in North Carolina that will reverse this horrible law and will lead to a new one that says ‘no’ actually means ‘no’ at every single point.

Unfortunately, I won’t benefit from this bill. But other women could, and you can help them get the protection they need by changing this law.

North Carolina cannot wait any longer.