A decade after Summer Willis says she was sexually assaulted at a fraternity party at the University of Texas at Austin, a new state law bearing her name is set to take effect this fall.
The Summer Willis Act, passed by Texas lawmakers earlier this year, clarifies when consent is legally absent in cases of sexual assault. The law specifically addresses situations where a person is intoxicated or impaired by any substance and cannot give consent, a loophole that previously left some survivors without legal protection.
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In an interview with NBC News correspondent Courtney Norris, Willis shared her story of attending a party, being drugged by one person, and sexually assaulted by another.
Under the state’s former law, because Willis had voluntarily accepted a drink and the person who assaulted her had not planned the act in advance, prosecutors said it did not legally meet the definition of sexual assault.
“I think something cracked inside of me, realizing that even if I wanted to, even if I went to the police the next day, they would have just turned me around,” Willis told NBC News.
For years, consent laws have varied widely from state to state. The new Texas law defines consent in the Penal Code and adds protections for those incapacitated by alcohol or other substances, closing a gap that survivors like Willis say left too many vulnerable.
The bipartisan bill, House Bill 3073, was based on recommendations from the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Task Force within the Office of the Governor. State Sen. Angela Paxton, a Republican from McKinney, praised Willis for turning personal tragedy into statewide reform.
“She didn’t want to be here for why she is here, but she has taken tragedy and turned it into triumph,” Paxton said.
Willis has since traveled the country raising awareness about sexual assault, participating in more than two dozen marathons, sometimes carrying a mattress or crawling on her hands and knees to symbolize the burdens survivors carry.
Under the new law, sexual assault in Texas is without consent if the actor knows or reasonably should know that the other person cannot consent because of intoxication or impairment, regardless of who provided the substance. It also clarifies that consent must be ongoing, and a person who continues an act after consent has been withdrawn can be charged.
According to data from RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, about 13 percent of graduate and undergraduate students in the U.S. experience rape or sexual assault.
The Summer Willis Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
NBC News reporter Courtney Norris contributed to this report.