Within hours after the media reported on an advisory permitting ‘two-finger’ test on rape victims, the AAP Government on Monday took a complete U-turn by clarifying that the ban on the controversial procedure to ascertain sexual assault will continue in the national Capital. The Delhi Government claimed that the advisory was “misinterpreted” and said it will issue a fresh notification clearly mentioning that this procedure to ascertain sexual assault
is banned. It has also clarified that the medical professionals should not perform the two finger test unless it is medically required for only treatment purposes. Health Minister Satyendra Jain informed that from now on two-finger test is completely banned for sexual assault victims in Delhi. The Minister said: “The two-finger test cannot be performed for ascertaining sexual assaults. More scientific methods will be adopted for this purpose.” He claimed that the advisory has been completely “misinterpreted.”
After meeting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Jain said: “It is now clarified and further reiterated that medical professionals should not perform the ‘finger test’ for ascertaining the habituation of the sexual assault victim/survivor to sexual intercourse. All hospital authorities in NCT of Delhi are advised to properly adhere to the same.”
The AAP Government had issued an advisory to its hospitals on May 29, stating that Per Vaginal (PV) examination, also referred to as ‘two-finger test’, for rape survivors can be conducted with their consent. The advisory read: “To do away with this essential pelvic examination would amount to incomplete assessment of the survivor, which will ultimately result in injustice and low conviction rates. Informed consent of the victim should be taken before conducting the test.”
“Although it is conceded that Per Vaginal, Per Speculum Bimanual exam may not be necessary in all cases, physicians examining such cases ultimately have a duty to do all in the best interests of their patients, only have to be judicious and take informed consent before they perform these procedures,” the advisory said. A PV test involves insertion of a finger or two into the rape survivor’s private parts for assessment of internal injuries, use of force if any, noting any discharge and gathering of sample, among others.
The two-finger test on victims of sexual assault and rape is banned as per the Union Health Ministry’s guidelines. Even the Supreme Court had in 2013 noted that the test violated the victim’s right to privacy. The Justice Verma Committee constituted after the December 2012 gangrape to suggest measures to tackle gender violence had also strongly disfavoured the two-finger test to confirm rape. Asked why such a controversial circular was issued, Jain said that the Health Department has a huge staff and there are about 50 heads of departments (HoDs) who issue circulars. “After CIC asked the Government to clarify its instructions, the advisory was issued on May 31, but it was misinterpreted.”
On being asked whether he was kept in the loop, the Minister said that everything does not reach the level of the Minister. When a reporter pointed out that it was he who during his 49-day AAP rule had set up a committee to examine the matter, Jain said: “Please do not twist the facts. The 14-page order was passed seven or eight months ago when we were not in power. Now, I want to clarify that this test has been completely banned in Delhi,” Jain said.