Uplifting News

At issue was how Texas sexual assault law outlined lack of consent. It did not specifically include victims who have been voluntarily intoxicated, making their cases nearly impossible to prosecute.

Exhausted, [Willis] looked across the street and realized she was standing directly across from the site where she said she was raped 10 years ago at a University of Texas at Austin fraternity party. Prosecutors say what happened to her would likely not legally have been considered sexual assault because of a state loophole: she accepted the drink she was handed at that party – which she believes was laced – before she was raped by another person.

Johnson said she and her colleagues with the state’s Sexual Assault Survivors’ Task Force have been workshopping legislation to close the intoxication loophole for at least the last six years, but each time it’s been derailed, previously passing in the House but not the Senate.

On that February day after the race, Willis “was just physically devastated,” Johnson said. Ravenous, Willis snacked as the lawmakers talked to her about the legislation they had in the works and pitched her an idea.

“Would you be willing to let us name this the Summer Willis Act? Would you be willing to come back and testify to get it passed?” Johnson asked.

Texas Rep. Donna Howard authored the bill, which passed unanimously that night.

Despite her victory in Texas, she’s disheartened by what happened with the bill in New York. No one ran. No one bled. But advocates there shared their experiences, just as she had. Is it enough for assault survivors to simply tell their stories and ask for help?