Do rape victims have a moral responsibility to report their rape?

2012-01-27T21:44:48+00:00

I think it takes courage to stand up and admit you were sexually abused or raped, for either sex, but I think its a stretch to say they have a moral responsibility to do so. I'm sure they want others to be protected, or at least to have the perpetrator of sexual violence be made public, so as to deny him/her the access to other possible victims, but they don't want to have to relive the experience, or to feel any negative feelings because of this trauma. For us to require them to do so would be wrong. We should support the choice and encourage them, but not shame into doing so because of a moral obligation.

To me, this would definitely be an act of victim blaming. They did not ask to be victimized, abused, or raped; they certainly should not be forced to speak up by a moral obligation. "You were denied self actualization and consent, so you should be forced to speak up." I would hope that they can find the courage and support, no matter whether they have a penis or a vagina, to stand up, speak out, and end the cycles of victimization and abuse, but I certainly do not think they should be forced to do so.

I certainly think feminists should speak out against false rape as much as they do actual rape [or supposed rape, regret rape, retribution rape, etc.] It seems that false rape perpetrators hurt actual rape victims more than anything else. I don't understand why they would attempt to silence discourse about it, if they truly cared for rape victims.

rachiedoubt · 2012-01-27T23:13:42+00:00

No, definitely not. It takes courage. A courage that most people who have been raped do not have anymore. Rape is violent and demoralizing, no matter who you are. When you are raped, you are robbed. And one thing robbed from you is your courage, your self-esteem, and often your voice.

In our society, most people think that pretty much only men rape pretty much only women. But that's clearly not the case. Less visible but not quite invisible is the case where men rape other men. But cases that are pretty much invisible? Women raping men and other women. Most people just don't think that happens. And chances are, if you were a victim of a rape committed by a woman, you've heard people say many times "women can't rape" or something along those lines. Just those comments, not even directed toward you, make you afraid to report your rape. Because it wasn't rape. Or at least nobody will think so, or believe you.

But it's not only the less visible cases of rape that people are afraid to report. It's any rape. Though people do falsely accuse people of rape, that in no way compares to people who have actually been raped accusing their rapists. It takes so much courage and strength to do that, especially depending on your circumstances, like where you're from, your family, your class, your race, your gender...

So no. There is NO moral responsibility. And anyone who says so, I personally believe, is an idiot.

2012-01-27T20:52:54+00:00

The title seems misleading and unrelated.

riot303 · 2012-01-28T01:43:12+00:00

I believe that we all should have the freedom to live our lives in the best way that we see fit. It should be the right of the victim to choose what to do afterwards.

Life isn't fair, so we don't have to follow the rules.

Whisper · 2012-01-28T04:02:49+00:00

No, they do not.

If victim A is raped, and does not report it, there is indeed the potential for victim B to be raped as well because the rapist was not stopped.

But to hold A responsible for this is to blame A for the actions of the rapist. That's not sensible.

Lawtonfogle · 2012-01-28T04:43:21+00:00

Let's put it another way. You, as a parent, know the guy (or gal) down the road molested your child. Do you have a moral obligation to report this considering the likelihood he will molest some other child?

The difference here is that the victim and the responsible adult are two separate people. But the reasoning doesn't change when the adult is the victim, does it?

Shattershift · 2012-01-28T10:46:17+00:00

I believe I would agree that a rape victim has a reasonable moral responsibility to report her rapist, but not that the victim would be actually responsible for any future victims if they didn't.

While they should report, any future cases aren't their fault. Their responsibility only goes so far.

I think that's a good, reasonable, defendable position for an MRA.

NiceGuysSTFU · 2012-01-27T20:45:12+00:00

Yes, you sound so very sympathetic to rape victims when you say, "live isn't fair."

Why on earth would the victim of any crime need your absolution? I'm sorry, but, though I do hope that crime victims report their attacks to the police, I certainly do not think they have any responsibility to do so, particularly if they are victim of a violent crime.

2012-01-28T04:54:05+00:00

No.

Rape has a lot of grey areas, so the type of rape is important. Was it a drunk encounter between ex-lovers which became confusing? Was she asleep and enjoying the encounter with her male friend until she came-to and suddenly realized exactly what was happening? She may feel she was "raped" but have a hard time justifying it as more than an embarrassing misunderstanding, knowing he did not do these things to harm her, knowing he might have believed she had consented.

In that case, no, she should never have an obligation to report it.

And if she was violently raped, threatened, reporting rape and going to trial can be both traumatic and distressing. It's insensitive to make someone endure being questioned about the legitimacy of the events which caused the psychological horror she just want's to go away. It is a very cruel thing to say she has an obligation to do so, even considering he may do it again.

2012-01-28T09:13:14+00:00

Once a rapist, always a rapist. The sooner you send them for some karma in prison the better.

TheRealPariah · 2012-01-30T02:53:08+00:00

Report their rape to who?

TrueAccount · 2012-01-28T02:57:42+00:00

I think you have a moral responsibility to report rape. However, I do not think you should be legally obligated to do so, and I don't think you should feel obligated to press charges.

Individual_Heart_290 · 2024-08-20T18:05:26+00:00

I think that victims can get their power back by reporting their rape BUT with the right resources, psychologists, sexual abuse advocate, child sexual abuse advocate etc. I also think we as a society don’t want anyone to get raped or sexually abused, but we also turn the other cheek when things get uncomfortable. Somewhere the cycle has to stop. I am a SURVIVOR of my biological father raping me when I was in 2nd grade. I was never aware of good touch and bad touch. THAT IS CRITICAL because 1 in 4 girls will be sexually assaulted by the time they reach 18. Rape doesn’t wait for you to turn 14, 18, 27,45 etc. anyone can be a victim and I think that counseling, support groups, and an understanding and loving community that’s educated on sexual abuse is the key. If we can make victims realize they’re resilient and they’re survivors, they can have the confidence to report their abuse. If someone is in jail for similar circumstances regarding sexual abuse, I think it should almost be rewarded if someone else comes forth with information adding to that perpetrator’s charges. Reporting rape is prevention. If we see it as that instead of shame and guilt and disgust then more people will come forward

Title	Do rape victims have a moral responsibility to report their rape?
Author	fatalisticfatalist
Upvotes	8
Comments	20
Date	January 27, 2012 8:25 PM UTC (14 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/ozkl1/do_rape_victims_have_a_moral_responsibility_to/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/do-rape-victims-have-a-moral-responsibility-to.1028626 https://theredarchive.com/post/1028626

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