What is the two finger test?
The test is done to determine if the victim has recently had intercourse. The test includes a hymen check. The hymen is checked because it can only be ruptured if the woman has had intercourse. This test was performed on victims of rape or sexual assault.
How is the test performed?
The two-finger test is performed by a doctor who inserts two fingers into the rape victim’s vaginal canal to check for muscle laxity and determine whether she has been sexually active.
What did the Verma committee say about the two-finger test?
A committee headed by former Chief Justice JS Verma, formed soon after the Nirbhaya gangrape case in the state capital in 2012, had recommended stricter laws for such cases and a ban on the two-finger test.
“It is important to emphasize that the size of the vaginal introitus has no bearing on a case of sexual assault, and therefore the vaginal muscle laxity test, commonly called the two-finger test, must not be performed. Observations/conclusions should not be made on the basis of this test as ‘sexual habituation’ and this is prohibited by law.” Following the recommendation, The Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act 2013 made the two-finger test illegal.
Is the two-finger test scientifically accepted?
The answer is no. According to medical experts, science has proven that the hymen is not a reliable source of evidence of vaginal penetration. The hymen, which is a thin membrane in the vagina, can rupture not only during sexual activity, but also during daily work or any physical activity, including sports.
Moreover, in cases of child sexual assault, the hymen, which is so deeply seated, remains intact during penetration. According to doctors, this test has no scientific basis.
What did the Supreme Court say earlier?
In May 2013, the Supreme Court banned the two-finger test on rape victims on the grounds that it violated their right to privacy. The court asked the government to ensure better medical procedures to confirm sexual assault.
In 2018, the United Nations Human Rights Organization, UN Women and the World Health Organization (WHO) called for a ban on the two-finger test to eliminate violence against women, declaring it a medically unnecessary, often painful, humiliating and traumatic practice that must end.
Yet the two finger test continues to be done in India and other countries despite the fact that the government is providing rape test kits to all medical institutions following the recommendations of the Verma Committee.
What did the Supreme Court say now?
A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli said it was unfortunate that the two-finger test was still being conducted on rape victims. The call to ban the test was made during a hearing to reinstate a rape conviction.
The Supreme Court said: “This Court has time and again rejected the use of the two-finger test in cases of alleged rape or sexual assault. The so-called test has no scientific basis and is an invasive method of examining rape survivors.”
While reading the judgement, Justice Chandrachud further added, “Instead, it re-victimizes and re-traumatizes women. The two-finger test must not be performed.” He also noted the patriarchal connotation associated with the test. The two-finger test was banned today by the Supreme Court because “it is based on the incorrect assumption that a sexually active woman cannot be raped. Nothing could be further from the truth.” The court also said it supported the view that a woman accused of rape cannot be trusted simply because she is sexually active.
