Women, Abuse, and Forgiveness: A Special Case

This chapter discusses the difficulties inherent in asking women to forgive given women's gendered role in relationships. They are addressed not in connection to crimes of oppression per se but in relation to acts of violence and abuse perpetrated by men. It also recognizes that the crimes against Jews and the crimes against women are not completely parallel. It then describes that the majority of crimes of abuse and victimization against women have not been equal in horror to the crimes of Nazis against Jews, and that some women victims have only experienced mild abuse whereas some have experienced torture. The special problem of anger for women is demonstrated. Forgiveness advocates want two things: (1) that the person with resentment is released from their inner turmoil; and (2) that the person who is wronged does not lose compassion for the wrongdoer.