The Supreme Court on Monday frowned on the use of the two-finger test for rape survivors, saying those who carry out the unscientific invasive method of examination should be prosecuted. The court noted that the test retraumatizes the victim, as it ordered the removal of reference to the test from study materials. During the hearing, Judge DY Chandrachud pointed out: “It is patriarchal and sexist to suggest that a woman cannot be believed when she claims she was raped simply because she is sexually active.”
“This court has time and again rejected the use of the two-finger test in cases of alleged rape and sexual assault. The so-called test has no scientific basis and is an invasive method of investigating rape victims…Instead, it re-victimizes and re-traumatizes women. The two-finger test must not be conducted,” Justice Chandrachud said while reading the judgment in the criminal case.
The test is based on the incorrect assumption that a sexually active woman cannot be raped. Nothing could be further from the truth.” The Supreme Court has also previously issued opinions on the matter along similar lines when the practice was deemed unconstitutional. In 2013, when the Supreme Court asked the government to replace it, it said: “The two-finger test and its interpretation undoubtedly violate rape victims’ right to privacy, physical and mental integrity and dignity. even if the report is positive, the presumption of consent cannot be established ipso facto.
