Global agencies like UN Human Rights, UN Women and the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for ban on the virginity testing - a gynecological examination conducted under the belief that it determines whether a woman or girl has had vaginal intercourse - calling it traumatic and unscientific.
In India, the practice of virginity test still exists in certain parts of India among nomads and tribals besides a few other communities.
In a joint statetment issued here, the UN agencies said that it has no scientific or clinical basis. "There is no examination that can prove a girl or woman has had sex - and the appearance of girl's or woman's hymen cannot prove whether they have had sexual intercourse, or are sexually active or not," they said.
"Virginity testing" is a violation of the human rights of girls and women, and can be detrimental to women's and girls' physical, psychological and social well-being. "Virginity testing" reinforces stereotyped notions of female sexuality and gender inequality. The examination can be painful, humiliating and traumatic. Given that these procedures are unnecessary and potentially harmful, it is unethical for doctors or other health providers to undertake them. Such procedures must never be carried out, said the statement.
In many settings such tests are considered part of assessment of survivors of rape. This is unnecessary, and can cause pain and mimic the original act of sexual violence, exacerbating survivors' sense of disempowerment and cause re-victimisation, the agencies said. The result of this unscientific test can impact upon judicial proceedings, often to the detriment of victims and in favour of perpetrators, sometimes resulting in perpetrators being acquitted.
In addition, women prisoners and those in detention facilities are at heightened risk of abuse and mistreatment, including forced virginity examinations. Virginity tests on women prisoners are common, intimidating and humiliating; they violate women's rights to privacy and physical integrity, and further disempower them, said the UN agencies.
Besides a few parts of India, virginity testing reportedly happens in numerous countries, including Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Libya, Malawi, Morocco, the UK and more places.
But the report notes that there is no scientific evidence to support that looking at or feeling someone's genitalia can tell you whether or not they've had sex, meaning that girls and women are subjected to invasive tests that aren't medically necessary.
"The concept of virginity is not a medical or scientific term; rather, it is a social, cultural and religious construct . The disproportionate social expectation that girls and women should remain 'virgins' (i.e. without having sexual intercourse) until marriage is rooted in stereotyped notions of female sexuality that have been harmful to women and girls globally," said the statement.
