Institutional belief · Forensic medicine and sexuality
Virginity testing
Examination of the hymen or vagina was treated as capable of determining whether a woman or girl had previously had vaginal intercourse.
9 episodes
Current understanding
Current understanding
No physical examination can establish whether a woman or girl has previously had vaginal intercourse. Hymenal appearance varies normally and is not a reliable record of sexual activity; so-called virginity or two-finger tests have no scientific or clinical validity.
Institutional episode
Turkey
Turkish police, gendarmes, schools, dormitories, and other state institutions ordered or facilitated examinations intended to determine women's and girls' “virginity.” State forensic doctors performed such examinations in cases involving detainees, suspected prostitution, school discipline, and public morality. A government regulation in late 1998 prohibited virginity testing unless requested by the woman.
Institutions
- Police and gendarmerie
- State forensic-medicine services and hospitals
- State schools and dormitories
Documented consequences
- Forced genital examinations
- Use of supposed “virginity” as evidence in policing
- Surveillance and punishment of women and girls
- Psychological and physical harm
Sources and what they establish
- A Matter of Power — State Control of Women's Virginity in TurkeyHuman Rights Watch
- 1999 Country Report on Human Rights Practices — TurkeyU.S. Department of State, via UNHCR Refworld
Records that a late-1998 Turkish government regulation prohibited the traditional practice of virginity testing unless requested by a woman.
Institutional episode
Iran
Iranian medico-legal centers have performed hymenal examinations intended to determine “virginity” for formal legal purposes. A study involving experienced examiners from Tehran forensic centers states that the tests are performed on civil and criminal court orders and documents applications involving marriage, divorce, welfare placement, alleged sexual assault, and certificates of virginity. Modern evidence establishes that hymenal appearance cannot determine a history of intercourse, but the accessible record does not show a nationwide Iranian abolition of the practice.
Institutions
- Legal Medicine Organization of Iran (LMOI)
- Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Documented consequences
- Court-ordered hymenal examinations
- Forensic certificates and reports used in civil and criminal matters
- Decisions concerning marriage, divorce, welfare placement, and alleged sexual activity
- Psychological and social harm, including risk of violence and self-harm
Institutional machinery
The Legal Medicine Organization is an official body of Iran's judiciary and its medico-legal centers provide expert reports when requested by courts and judges. Research conducted inside Iranian forensic centers describes virginity examinations as being performed on civil and criminal court orders as well as for other formal medico-legal purposes. A 2026 country review still reports that authorities may attempt virginity testing in some cases; no nationwide abolition is documented.
Sources and what they establish
- Virginity Testing Beyond a Medical ExaminationGlobal Journal of Health Science
Publisher-hosted Iranian study conducted in forensic medical centers and governmental gynecology clinics in Tehran; it states that forensic centers perform virginity testing on civil and criminal court orders.
- Modern forensic medicine and the medico-legal system in IranJournal of Clinical Forensic Medicine
Describes the Legal Medicine Organization as an official body of Iran's judiciary whose medico-legal centers provide expert forensic reports when requested by courts, judges, and administrative authorities.
- Country policy and information note — Zina, Iran, April 2026UK Home Office
Recent country review reports that Iranian authorities may attempt virginity tests on young women arrested in some circumstances, while noting that the available evidence does not show the practice to be prevalent.
Institutional episode
India
Indian forensic-medicine teaching and public hospitals continued to use the two-finger test to judge whether rape survivors were “habituated to sexual intercourse.” Medical findings about hymenal condition and vaginal laxity entered medico-legal reports and could be used in court to attack a survivor's credibility or imply consent. The Supreme Court rejected the practice in 2013, and national health guidelines subsequently instructed examiners not to perform it or comment on past sexual experience.
Institutions
- Government hospitals and medico-legal services
- Forensic-medicine training and textbooks
- Criminal courts using medico-legal reports
Documented consequences
- Invasive examinations of rape survivors
- Sexual-history judgments in medico-legal reports
- Evidence used to challenge credibility or imply consent
- Re-traumatization of survivors
Sources and what they establish
- Dignity on Trial — India's Need for Sound Standards for Conducting and Interpreting Forensic Examinations of Rape SurvivorsHuman Rights Watch
Documents widespread institutional use of the test, its prescription in 2005 and 2007 forensic-medicine textbooks, public-hospital examination forms, and court reliance on supposed signs of sexual habituation.
- State of Jharkhand v. Shailendra Kumar Rai @ Pandav RaiSupreme Court of India
Primary 2022 judgment quoting national health guidelines that prohibit the two-finger test and state that hymenal status cannot prove previous intercourse; the Court ordered the guidelines circulated to all government and private hospitals.
- Supreme Court of India — Lillu @ Rajesh and Anr. v. State of HaryanaSupreme Court of India
2013 judgment rejecting the two-finger test as violating survivors' privacy, physical and mental integrity, and dignity.
Institutional episode
Bangladesh
Bangladesh's medico-legal system used the two-finger test and hymenal examination on women and girls who reported rape. In March 2018 the Health Ministry told the High Court that the tests were regularly used to determine whether sexual intercourse had occurred. In April the ministry withdrew that position, and on 12 April 2018 the High Court declared the two-finger test unscientific, unreliable and invalid and prohibited it in examinations of rape victims.
Institutions
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
- Directorate General of Health Services
- Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Department of Forensic Medicine
- Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Department of Forensic Medicine
- Sir Salimullah Medical College & Hospital, Department of Forensic Medicine
- Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College & Hospital, Department of Forensic Medicine
- Chittagong Medical College, Department of Forensic Medicine
Documented consequences
- Invasive genital examinations of rape survivors
- Medico-legal conclusions about prior sexual activity
- Evidence capable of affecting rape investigations and trials
- Humiliation, re-traumatization and violation of bodily dignity
Institutional machinery
The 2013 High Court litigation documented physicians in medical colleges across Bangladesh using the two-finger test on women and girls reporting rape. In November 2017, heads of five forensic-medicine departments told the court the test was necessary. In March 2018 the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare itself stated that finger testing and assessment of the hymen were regularly used to determine whether a sexual act had occurred. The ministry withdrew that position the following month, and the High Court prohibited the practice.
Sources and what they establish
- Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust & Ors v. Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare & Ors — Writ Petition No. 10663 of 2013Bangladesh Public Interest Litigation / BLAST
Detailed litigation chronology documenting countrywide medico-legal use, the 2017 opinions of forensic-medicine department heads, the Health Ministry's March 2018 defence of finger and hymen testing, its withdrawal, and the High Court's April 2018 prohibition.
- HC bans use of “two-finger test”, “bio-manual test” during examinations of rape victimsbdnews24.com
Reports the High Court's 12 April 2018 ruling that the tests lacked legal or scientific basis and records the requirement to follow the Health Ministry's health-care protocol.
Institutional episode
Indonesia
In 2014, Indonesia's police recruitment system still subjected female applicants to “virginity tests,” including the discredited two-finger examination; Pusdokkes Polri personnel conducted the examinations in police medical facilities. Human Rights Watch also documented the practice across all three armed-forces branches. The Army began ending the practice in 2021, and in April 2022 an armed-forces spokesperson announced that all three military branches had effectively ended virginity testing for recruitment.
Institutions
- Indonesian National Police (Polri)
- Police Medical and Health Center (Pusdokkes Polri)
- Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI)
- Indonesian Army (TNI AD)
- Indonesian Navy (TNI AL)
- Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU)
Documented consequences
- Invasive examinations of female recruits
- Sex discrimination in public employment
- Psychological and physical harm
Institutional machinery
In the police recruitment system, Human Rights Watch identified the National Police regulation and Pusdokkes Polri personnel as part of the testing machinery. In the military, all three service branches had used the practice. The Army began ending it in 2021; in 2022 the military announced that the Army, Navy, and Air Force had all effectively ended the tests for recruitment.
Sources and what they establish
- Indonesia — “Virginity Tests” for Female PoliceHuman Rights Watch
Documents the official police recruitment context, Chief Police Regulation No. 5/2009, the continuing two-finger examination in 2014, and Pusdokkes Polri personnel conducting the tests in police-operated hospitals.
- Indonesia Army Chief to Terminate Unscientific “Virginity Test”Human Rights Watch
Documents the 2021 Army order ending medically irrelevant virginity testing for female recruits while noting the practice's long use across the security forces.
- Indonesia Military Finally Ends Abusive “Virginity Test”Human Rights Watch
Records the armed forces' April 2022 announcement that all three branches — Army, Navy, and Air Force — had effectively ended virginity testing for recruitment.
Institutional episode
Pakistan
Official medico-legal instructions in Punjab incorporated digital and hymenal examinations intended to ascertain the virginity of rape and sexual-abuse victims. By 2020 the federal government had formally rejected the practice as inconclusive and incompatible with dignity. In January 2021 the Lahore High Court struck down the tests, and the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021 subsequently prohibited two-finger virginity testing and removed its probative value nationwide.
Institutions
- Surgeon Medico Legal Punjab
- Punjab Health Department
- Lahore High Court
- Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of Pakistan
Documented consequences
- Invasive genital examinations of sexual-violence survivors
- Official medico-legal judgments about virginity and sexual history
- Potential use of those conclusions in criminal proceedings
- Violation of dignity, privacy and bodily integrity
Institutional machinery
Punjab's 2015 medico-legal instructions mandated digital and hymenal examination in rape and sexual-abuse cases for purposes that included ascertaining virginity. The federal government formally rejected the test in 2020. In January 2021 the Lahore High Court declared two-finger and hymen tests for determining virginity illegal and unconstitutional and invalidated the relevant portions of the 2015 instructions and later guidelines. Parliament's Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021 then prohibited two-finger virginity testing and removed its probative value.
Sources and what they establish
- Virginity test in abuse cases illegal, declares LHCDawn
Detailed legal report on the Lahore High Court judgment, including the finding that Punjab health department and medico-legal 2015 instructions were unlawful insofar as they mandated two-finger or hymen testing to ascertain virginity.
- Government's stance on two finger testPress Information Department, Government of Pakistan
Official October 2020 statement that the test is inconclusive, violates dignity and should not form part of medico-legal reports in rape or sexual-assault cases.
- Overview of the Anti-Rape ActMinistry of Law and Justice, Government of Pakistan
Current ministry overview confirming that the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021 bans the two-finger test previously used to assess victims.
Institutional episode
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan's Ministry of Justice forensic centre uses a methodology approved in 2016 for examining female sexual states that includes determining “sexual inviolability” and establishing whether previous intercourse occurred. The document instructs direct genital and hymenal examination while also acknowledging that intercourse may occur without hymenal rupture. WHO states that hymenal appearance cannot establish prior vaginal intercourse and that no examination can prove a history of intercourse.
Institutions
- Center for Forensic Examinations, Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Documented consequences
- Forensic genital examinations intended to infer prior sexual intercourse
- Use of hymenal condition and injuries within a state evidentiary methodology
- Potential influence on criminal and civil proceedings through medico-legal conclusions
- Continuation of a scientifically invalid virginity inference in an official forensic framework
Institutional machinery
A Ministry of Justice forensic methodology approved in December 2016 and later published by the state forensic centre defines examinations of female “sexual states” as including determination of sexual inviolability and whether previous sexual intercourse occurred. The same methodology acknowledges that intercourse can occur without disruption of the hymen, yet retains hymenal and genital examination within an expert task aimed at inferring prior intercourse. The methodology remains published by the state forensic centre as part of its current methodological materials.
Sources and what they establish
- Methodology for examination of a female person to determine signs of sexual inviolabilityCenter for Forensic Examinations, Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Official forensic methodology approved on 5 December 2016; it lists determination of sexual inviolability and prior intercourse among expert tasks, prescribes genital and hymenal examination, and acknowledges that intercourse can occur without hymenal rupture.
Institutional episode
Tajikistan
Tajikistan has restricted ordinary medical virginity testing but retains an explicit forensic exception. A current UN country analysis reports substantial state-forensic use, while Tajikistan's own delegation told CEDAW in 2024 that the National Centre of Forensic Medicine remains authorized to perform the checks in criminal investigations. This preserves an official forensic use of an examination that cannot establish whether vaginal intercourse has occurred.
Institutions
- National Centre of Forensic Medicine
- Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population of Tajikistan
Documented consequences
- State forensic genital examinations intended to determine virginity
- Use in criminal investigations despite absence of scientific validity
- Potential legal and social consequences from forensic certificates
- Psychological, reputational and family harm
Institutional machinery
Tajikistan's 2016 Family Code amendments established mandatory pre-marital medical examinations, and the United Nations Common Country Analysis records cases in which those examinations were used for virginity testing; it also reports that the state forensic centre checks the virginity of about 600 girls annually. Tajikistan later prohibited ordinary virginity tests in medical facilities, but during the country's 2024 CEDAW review its own delegation stated that authorities including the National Centre of Forensic Medicine remain authorized to conduct the checks in criminal investigations.
Sources and what they establish
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women — summary record of the 2034th meetingUnited Nations
Official 2024 UN meeting record in which Tajikistan's delegation states that virginity tests are prohibited in medical facilities but authorities including the National Centre of Forensic Medicine remain authorized to conduct the checks in criminal investigations.
- Tajikistan Common Country Analysis — Annual Update 2024United Nations in Tajikistan
Records that mandatory pre-marital medical examinations were established through 2016 Family Code amendments, that such examinations have been used for virginity testing, and that the National Centre of forensic examination checks the virginity of about 600 girls annually.
Institutional episode
Georgia
Georgian investigators and courts have treated hymenal condition as significant forensic evidence in sexual-violence cases. A Public Defender study documented repeated orders to examine hymenal integrity and showed that such findings could affect credibility and case assessment. The government reported in 2025 that the formal state forensic procedure still includes determining hymenal integrity; no subsequent institutional abolition is documented.
Institutions
- Levan Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau
- Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia
- Prosecutor's Office of Georgia
- Common Courts of Georgia
Documented consequences
- Forensic genital examinations of sexual-violence victims, including children
- Scientifically invalid inferences from hymenal condition
- Medical reports used as important evidence in criminal investigations and trials
- Secondary victimization and potential distortion of credibility or penetration findings
Institutional machinery
The Public Defender's review of criminal cases from 2018–2020 found investigators repeatedly ordering state forensic examinations focused on hymenal integrity, including cases in which the child's allegation did not involve penetration. Georgia's 2025 government report to GREVIO confirms that the current state forensic procedure for sexual acts, defined by Government Resolution No. 14 of 16 January 2023, still includes determining hymenal integrity and the age of any disruption.
Sources and what they establish
- The administration of justice on crimes of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of childrenPublic Defender of Georgia; hosted by UNICEF Georgia
Stable UNICEF-hosted Public Defender report documenting 2018–2020 cases in which investigators ordered forensic examinations to determine hymenal integrity, including where no penetration was alleged, and explaining that the inference lacks factual, scientific and medical validity.
- Report submitted by Georgia to GREVIO — first thematic evaluation roundGovernment of Georgia, via Council of Europe
Georgia's 2025 state report says Government Resolution No. 14 of 16 January 2023 defines forensic medical examination in sexual-act cases as including determination of hymenal integrity and age of disruption, with appointment questions mandatory for the expert to address.
- Levan Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau — Medical Experts Participate in TrainingLevan Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau
Official Bureau page confirming its medical forensic role in sexual-violence criminal cases and cooperation with the Public Defender and Council of Europe on forensic examination standards.
Last reviewed: 24/08/2026