Jeff Jackson, a Democratic state senator in North Carolina, is working to get the law changed. He says that Palmer and Guy’s cases are just the tip of the iceberg, and that many other women have asked him privately for help in cases where they withdrew their consent but the man could not be charged with rape.

“Legislators are hearing more and more about women who have been raped and are being denied justice because of this crazy loophole,” he said. “North Carolina is the only state in U.S. where no doesn’t mean no.”

Jackson has sponsored a bill which would make it a criminal offence to continue with intercourse when a woman withdraws consent, but says that it is unlikely to get through the majority Republican North Carolina Senate.

“There’s no reason for this to be partisan,” says Jackson. “It’s about doing what’s obviously right.”

Images: iStock, Rex Features

Shocking US law says men can finish sex even if woman withdraws consent