yes, sentances are too short it and I include man on man rape in that comment, something sadly not spoken of enough, it should also be treated as a war crime as well as it is increasingly used to dehumanise and terrorise.

Murder remains the worse crime and should keep the longest sentence. Some rape sentences do seem unduly short though.

Tom.

No. Plotting and planning to take a life is worse than rape. Rape sentences do need to be longer though.

In my world of "zero tolerance" the maxim "an eye for an eye" holds good. The severity of a crime depends on the intentions of the perpetrator coupled with the effect on the victim and their family.
Rape can sometimes be the result of a date that went wrong, and while that is no less a crime it is surely not quite as serious as a premeditated abduction and systematic repeated violent rape under threat of death. The latter should incur a life sentence. And life should mean life, not a few years cushy holiday from the outside world with all modern comforts.

Hello grumpus, I do of course accept that there are extenuating circumstances in many cases of rape, I don't think that there are ever any excuses. No means no.

In all cases where there are children raped, or, the victim was unknown to the rapist, leaving victims that are most often affected for life, a penalty of a lifetime of imprisonment seems to be the obvious sentence.

Well done for being brave enough to initiate a debate on such an emotive issue .
I must say that the circumstances do make a difference , i.e there's obvious differences between a woman who changes her mind two seconds before penetration , and 'date-rape' where the boundaries are blurred , and vicious , violent rape by a stranger .
Male and female jurors are traditionally reluctant to convict alleged rapists where the circumstances seem ambiguous .
I definitely think that some rapists / abusers should be incarcerated at least until they are too old and frail to be a danger to anyone .
But we have juries , magistrates and Judges not only to determine guilt but also to decide upon an appropiate sentence based on the individual circumstances .
As someone else here pointed out , some - adult or child- victims of sexual assault and / or rape are able to sufficiently recover enough to be able to lead 'normal' enough lives , others are not , and , while child or adult victims deserve all the support and therapy that they need , it should'nt be assumed that the rest of their lives have necessarily been ruined , and obviously there's a difference between a 'one-off' assault , and being subjected to years of abuse .
And it should'nt be forgotten that some men imprisoned for rape have had to be released following definitive proof that they could'nt have done it , and/or their accuser having admitted that she lied .
There is legal anonymity for alleged victims of rape even if they eventually admit having lied , but not for alleged perpetrators , even if they are found to be not guilty .
It's the same with murder in the sense that : How can you compare a loving spouse who helps their terminally ill , suffering wife or husband to die with someone who sadistically kills someone ' for kicks ' .
And then there's the question of : What to do with someone found guilty of downloading illegal photo's of children , whether thay be 'innocent' naturist beach pictures or horrifying ones of kids being sickeningly abused - If there's no evidence of their having physically abused any child .
Of course if they've paid for the sickening images they are supporting the wicked abuse , but if they've not paid for them , and if they themselves were victims when they were children - -
I'm not seeking to excuse anything that's wrong , I'm just pointing out how individual circumstances can vary .

Hi S & V, a great comment that you made. I do tend to post questions that I hope others will read the comments and lead to more thinking about that subject, to learn the point of view of others.

You have raised some points that need to be posted as questions.

Thanks.

Rape is an horrific crime but like for like it can't be treated as serious as taking someone's life, i.e. a man raping a woman is not as serious as a man murdering a woman. As pointed out above there are individual cases that call for different punishments.

The biggest part of the debate for me is that prison holds no fear for criminals anymore. It should be a place that people fear to go. I recall it was Scottish judges that first set precedents under the UK Convention on Human Rights for prisoners (Like saying they should not have to slop out etc.). People who take others rights (like murder, rape etc) do not deserve to retain their own.

Well said skelly, I do feel that the judges were only making a decision based on the Human Rights that were agreed and accepted by politicians, the same politicians that tell the judges what penalty's they can hand down to the guilty.

like not all murders are equal so are rapes. Raping a young girl on the street, is very different to a date rape where borders can be murky.

Any generalisation is dangerous