The startling news that a woman who claimed abduction and sexual assault near Little Squalicum Beach likely made the story up has brought angry response from some members of the community.

Police now say the woman has mental issues and apparently made up the entire story of her abduction on March 2 on a trail near the beach and her subsequent rape.

Our community has responded magnificently since the time of the alleged crime— organizing rallies to promote public safety and show disapproval of violence against women and raising money for the alleged victim.

So it’s only natural for many citizens to be upset if it turns out it was all over nothing. Certainly the woman should return any money given to her through public fundraising. If police are correct and the woman made up the entire story, there is a case to be made for her prosecution for false reporting. It is not a good thing that she did this, and prosecutors should examine closely whether her mental state makes her incapable of being held responsible for her actions.

The community will likely never know her exact mental state, though, as laws require health officials not to release information about medical conditions.

Still, the incident is not a good excuse for sweeping denunciations of the mentally ill, rape victims or the police. What is needed now is compassion and forgiveness.

People who suffer from mental illness can make decisions that the rest of society find irrational, and even unforgivable, if they are untreated.

But how does anger over what happened serve the community?

If this woman indeed has a mental illness, what she did was just an acting-out of her illness. It was not a personal affront to our community.

And what did our community get from this case?

In a matter of days, we came together to rally for public safety on our beaches and trails. We formed bicycling groups to help monitor and report potential crime. We demanded an end to violence against women.

Even if every word of this woman’s story is false, those results are good for the community. There is still violence against women throughout our community, with domestic violence among the top crimes our police respond to.

We urge forgiveness and compassion in the face of the strange turn of events about this crime. And we call for the community to stay together and still demand we look out for each other’s safety.

And those who are still angry should consider this question: isn’t it better that this kind of horrendous crime didn’t occur in our community than if it had?