The Union Health Ministry, which has drawn new guidelines for treating rape victims, has asked all hospitals to set up a designated room for forensic and medical examination of victims besides outlawing the two-finger test performed on them, dubbing it as unscientific.
The Department of Health Research (DHR) along with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) with the help of experts formulated this set of national guidelines for dealing with criminal assault cases, which will hopefully put an end to the “horrendous” medical process, which the victims are subjected to after sexual abuse.
The DHR has also drafted a new manual to address the psycho-social impact of sexual violence including counselling that the victims should receive to alleviate her woes. These guidelines have been made available to health care providers who work with victims of sexual violence.
An experts’ group on Gender and Health was formed by Dr VM Katoch, Secretary to GOI-DHR and Director General ICMR in November 2011 under the chairmanship of Dr ME Khan (Secretary, Sexual Violence Research Initiative) to formulate these guidelines which can be used at Primary Health Centres and district hospitals whenever a rape victim approaches them.
later, Indrajit Khandekar, in-charge Clinical Forensic Medicine Unit (CFMU) & Associate professor at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS) Sevagram- Wardha (on whose study report titled “pitiable and horrendous quality of forensic medical examination of sexual assault cases” a PIl was filed in Bombay High Court was given the responsibility to draft these guidelines.
The guidelines drafted were made available to public and experts and their opinion was sought. Following this, the guidelines were released for circulation on December 16, 2013.
There must be provisions to provide alternative clothing for the victims and smooth collection of MlC evidence keeping in mind the sensitivity of the circumstances. Also, there must be training sessions for sensitising doctors and other medical staff for the protocols and guidelines for MlC examination/reporting of such cases, it has been outlined.
As per the guidelines, while carrying out medical tests no third person must be present in the room other than the doctor. If the doctor is male, a female attendant must be there, Khandekar said.
The maligned two-finger test that was used by doctors to opine whether the girl is habituated to sexual intercourse or not, has been outlawed and the manual recognises that it is no way scientific and shall not be performed. Doctors are asked not to use word rape in their opinion, as it is a legal definition and not a medical diagnosis.