What is the two finger test? Despite the Supreme Court’s ban, the matter has again reached the same place

New Delhi: The two finger test is once again in the news. This time the matter is related to Meghalaya. While hearing the petition of a person convicted under the POCSO Act, the Supreme Court had expressed displeasure over the two finger test of the rape victim in Meghalaya. The POCSO Act convict had claimed that the two finger test of the victim was done. In this case, the Meghalaya government has replied in the Supreme Court that the two finger test is banned in the state. This test is done on a woman who has been sexually abused, in which it is found out whether the victim is sexually active or not. The Supreme Court has already banned the two finger test. After all, what is this two finger test? There is a ruckus about it.

What is the two finger test?

The ‘two-finger test’ is a process in which the virginity of the victim is tested by inserting two fingers in her private part. Through this, the doctor finds out whether the woman is sexually active or not. However, science completely rejects this type of test. Science considers the hymen being intact in women’s virginity to be a mere myth.

What does science say?

Medical science emphasizes that the hymen can tear due to many reasons, such as sports, cycling, or the use of tampons. It is not necessary that the hymen tears only due to being sexually active. Therefore, the two-finger test cannot be accepted as scientific evidence in any way.

The central government has also declared it unscientific

The central government’s health ministry has also called the test unscientific. In March 2014, the ministry issued new guidelines for the care of rape victims, asking all hospitals to set up a special room for forensic and medical examinations and completely banned the two-finger test. The new guidelines emphasize on recording the history of the assault, conducting a physical examination of the victim and providing them with proper counseling. The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) has changed the syllabus of the subject ‘Forensic Medicine and Toxicology’ taught to second-year medical students and removed the subject ‘Science of Virginity’.

The Supreme Court has also banned the test

The Supreme Court had declared the two-finger test unconstitutional in the case of Lilu Rajesh vs State of Haryana in 2013. The court had called it a violation of the privacy and dignity of the rape victim. The court had said that this test is physically and mentally painful and it is not a reliable way to find out the history of sexual violence. Even if this test comes out positive, it cannot be assumed that the relationship was consensual.

Despite the Supreme Court’s ban, this test has been used in many cases. In 2019, more than 1,500 rape victims and their family members complained to the court that this test was being conducted despite the Supreme Court’s order. The petition demanded the cancellation of the license of the doctors conducting this test. The United Nations also does not recognize such a test.