The problem with St. Maria Goretti and several other saints who died in similar circumstances (killed when they resisted) is that they are often cited as the patron saints of rape victims. Nobody ever cites Maria Goretti as the patron saint of forgiveness.
It sends a message that if you submit in order to save yourself, or submit just because you’re so scared you don’t have it in you to fight back, or otherwise just don’t end up dead, you did not act in a “saintly” way. It sends a further message that if you somehow do get raped or horribly maimed, you are supposed to forgive your attacker and not feel anger or other natural emotions. I don’t mean to take away from Maria or the others who were very brave and heroic as well, but not everyone is going to react like that. If Maria had lived rather than died, she may have developed some other emotions over time and that would have been okay.
I am willing to bet that a whole lot of female martyrs were indeed raped before they were killed, or maybe even as part of killing them. It was likely just considered too indelicate to put in their hagiographies. People have done studies on how a lot of the torture of female “virgin martyrs” is highly sexualized. It’s hard for me to believe that those who would cut off women’s breasts for torture wouldn’t also just go ahead and commit rapes. There are probably all kinds of raped saints in heaven who we just don’t hear about. Men too I reckon.
