Is rape worse than other violent crime?

BBC Radio 4 - The Public Philosopher, Is rape worse than other violent crime?

Sujeka (sp?): By giving rape that kind of importance, you're denying yourself an identity. My identity is more than my virginity. My identity is me as a person in society who can do things, create a life beyond being a virgin when I'm married. I mean, what the hell is that?...

Thrisha (sp?): If you have a law that gives it a special status, I think the law is then sanctioning this special status of rape. If the law treats rape on par with other crimes then automatically society will tend to look at it.

I think that's a step that the government can take towards changing the attitudes of society.

Also, another point. Everyone's been talking about essence of woman and piousness and the thing is when someone looks at me and says that 'you are a woman and let me protect you. You are special'. As a woman, I don't need that. When you give me the idea of caring, you're making a child. I'm not a child, I don't need to be taken care of.

I disagree with the gentleman there from Delhi. The fact that we give rape a special status shows that a society is more mature. I think we're an extremely sexually repressed society if we give rape a special status. I think what Richard shows... a society which gives sex far more importance than it does and it's demeaning women by caring for us.