A Melbourne artist's short film clip, which she calls a "self-orchestrated rape representation," has provoked heated debate among Fairfax readers.

Sophia Hewson filmed herself in a three-minute clip titled are you ok bob?, arranging a stranger to come to her then home in New York and have sex with her on camera. Through the three-minute clip, the lens remains on her face.

Hewson says the "militant feminist" piece aims to challenge the patriarchy, and the fact that "the raped woman, still today, is nearly always represented with her face down and her eyes averted".

About 175,000 people have read a piece about Hewson on Fairfax's websites, sparking strong - and very mixed - reactions.

On The Age's Facebook page, reader Morgan Lee Cataldo described the work as "intense and confronting".

"Given the rates of intimate and domestic violence, plus sexual violence against women globally, I think this is very powerful and speaks volumes to those who trivialise or lack empathy towards women who have been violated."

Another called it "twisted", while Ruby Dole admitted it was an interesting concept but an "intense way to make a point".

A reader going under the Facebook name of Trude Red and Sparkly Paladin said Hewson's art serves to belittle actual rape.

"It's like she's trying to tell the right story, but from a position of complete ignorance," says the reader."That she has brought rape down to something a stranger does, belittles what is often a very complicated crime. A husband can rape a wife, a woman can rape a man, consensual petting can go to far and become rape. An adult coercing a child into sex is rape, even if the child didn't say no."

She said most rapes or sexual attacks are committed by someone that the victim knows and even trusts, and that the abuse of trust can be more damaging than the act itself.

In Fairfax's initial story on her work, Hewson admitted she was worried about a negative reaction from some people, but delivered a sincere argument for it.

In her artist statement, she defined rape as the "ultimate weapon of male domination". She wrote that to choose to put yourself in this situation challenges its use as a form of control.

The 31-year-old explained she needed to go to the extreme length of being penetrated because it meant her fear was real, rather than acted. By filming it, she said, she's owning how the raped woman is depicted.

Carolyn Worth, a spokesperson for the The Victorian (Australia) Centres Against Sexual Assault, said while her reaction was not totally negative, she did cringe a little when reading about the artist's work.

"I thought hmmm, I get the logic in what she's saying, I really do. But it's taking performance art a bit far," Ms Worth said.

"It's not a rape because she asked them in and she was in control of the situation. The whole thing about rape is you're not in control of the situation there so you don't know where it's going to end up."

Ms Worth said she didn't quite see the purpose of the film clip. "I don't think people that have been raped would find this something they wanted to watch. I understand the bit about pushing boundaries and stuff, but I was puzzled by it."

Dr Catharine Lumby, who is a gender advisor to the NRL and also works pro bono with Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia, agrees with the artist that society needs to stop talking about subjects of rape as victims.

"When you are sexually assaulted, there's still shame attached to their status as someone who has had a crime committed against them. If you are punched in the face, nobody blames you," said Dr Lumby. "We need to detach the sexual element from the crime."

She said there was always a risk that when subjects like sexual assault were raised, that people who have been traumatised could be further traumatised. But she argued that it was worse to not raise the issue at all.

"I say this with great sensitivity to sexual assault survivors - I hope - but I think many sexual assault survivors want this issue on the radar. They do not want it to happen to anyone else."

- with Chloe Booker

Victorian sexual assault crisis line: 1800 806 292

National sexual assault helpline 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732