What is a virginity test?

A "virginity test", sometimes called a "two-finger test", involves an examiner physically scrutinising a girl or woman's vagina to check the tissue at the vaginal opening (the hymen) is intact.

Many cultures believe the hymen is only torn the first time a woman has penetrative intercourse, and that if it is broken, she must not be a virgin.

The doctor, community leader or member of the country's law enforcement, might also check for vaginal tightness, as a looser vaginal opening is said to prove sexual activity.

Whether or not a woman or girl is a virgin carries different degrees of cultural significance around the world — it can be used to discredit alleged rape victims, adjudicate whether a woman is fit to marry, or determine whether she has had an extra-marital affair.

Is it an accurate way to test if someone is a virgin?

No.

"There is no place for virginity (or ‘two-finger’) testing; it has no scientific validity," a November 2014 World Health Organisation handbook recommended.



The hymen, named after the Greek god of marriage, is a membrane that surrounds or partially covers the vaginal opening and can erode or tear as a result of physical activity such as gymnastics or horse riding, tampon insertion, masturbation, or first-time penetrative sexual intercourse.

In 2017, researchers at the University of Minnesota published a systematic review of all available, peer-reviewed research into the reliability of "virginity tests" as well as the impact of the test on the person being examined. The team identified, summarised and assessed 1,269 studies and surmised the test was "not a useful clinical tool", and that it could be "physically, psychologically and socially devastating to the examinee".

"Virginity testing is a form of gender discrimination, as well as a violation of fundamental rights, and when carried out without consent, a form of sexual assault," researchers concluded.

The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims has stated virginity has "no medically significant value" so ascribed values are "wholly moral, social, and cultural".

The council has also reiterated that when the tests are forcibly conducted and involve vaginal penetration, the examination "should be considered a form of sexual assault and rape".

Where is it happening?

The testing has been reported across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and more recently in Western countries including Canada, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands.

In Afghanistan "virginity tests" are used to support the criminal prosecution of women and girls accused of "moral crimes" such as premarital sex, zina (consensual sex outside of marriage) and running away from home.