# Have rape victims the moral or ethical obligation to prosecute their rapists?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-rape-victims-the-moral-or-ethical-obligation-to-prosecute-their-rapists/540258>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [May 21, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-rape-victims-the-moral-or-ethical-obligation-to-prosecute-their-rapists/540258 "2010-05-21T14:46:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 7

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**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-rape-victims-the-moral-or-ethical-obligation-to-prosecute-their-rapists/540258/7 "2010-05-22T00:16:48Z")

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IMHO the victim needs to forgive totally, and not prosecute, which is state sponsored revenge. Forgiving them totally will either help reform them or make their present path much much worse, revenge will help them continue in evil, even through this may or may not be evil committed in jail.

Forgiving them will take the healing out of the hands of the state and their process, and place it in the victim’s.

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