A Supreme Court bench consisting of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Hima Kohli have effectively spoken against the two-finger test that is still being used in India on rape victims.
The invasive method of examination in order to prove that sexual assault took place has been heavily condemned by the court and as of now prohibited. The court added that people who are found conducting such tests will be held guilty of misconduct and urged authorities to not indulge in a “sexist and patriarchal” form of testing.
The Union Health Ministry has been directed by the court to make sure that sexual assault victims and rape survivors no longer have to go through this test. Along with this the Union Govt and the State Governments have also been told to make sure that the Department of Health and Family Welfare guidelines that ban the two-finger test are provided to all private and government hospitals.
The bench has in very clear terms said that the test has no scientific basis to it and only further traumises and victimises the survivors who deserve better.
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What Is Two Finger Test?
For those who are unaware, the two-finger test is an intrusive physical examination done on a rape survivor where a doctor inserts two fingers into the vagina in order to check if the hymen is broken or not. The test is meant to examine how loose the vaginal muscles are in order to prove virginity and the sexual assault that took place.
The two-finger test is extremely controversial, with the Supreme Court putting a ban on it in May 2013 saying that it violates the right to privacy of rape victims.
Even the United Nations (UN) Human Rights, UN Women, and the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018 as per reports had asked for the test to be banned saying that it was “medically unnecessary, often times painful, humiliating and traumatic practice [that] must end.”
It is truly high time that the medical and other authorities of the country start giving some basic respect and decency to rape survivors and treating them with the humanness that they deserve.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Hindu, The Indian Express, The Print
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This post is tagged under: Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Hima Kohli, rape survivor, supreme court, supreme court india, two finger test, two finger test india, two finger test rape victim, rape victim india, patriarchy, patriarchy india
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