The Swedish government plans to criminalize virginity tests, which involve a doctor confirming that a woman has not had sexual intercourse, to protect women and girls from crimes that stem from a mindset of "preserving or establishing honor."
Such killings are often carried out by family members in order to respect tradition or specific religious, cultural or customary requirements of a community, according to the Council of Europe.
"The virginity test is a method, without scientific basis, that claims to determine whether a woman has had sexual intercourse by examining whether the hymen is intact."
Experts argue that these tests are unfounded and constitute a violation of sexual integrity. In 2018, the World Health Organization called for the abolition of this type of examination.
Sweden aims to criminalize both issuing the certificates and carrying out the procedures, allowing for criminal prosecution of offenders, according to the Swedish Social Services. So far, only health professionals who carry out these "examinations" face disciplinary action.
A government report says these practices are rarely reported in Sweden, although some women undergo such tests or surgeries abroad, which are often linked to a culture of violence linked to gender and morality.
UN Women (the UN agency for women) includes virginity tests among harmful practices that violate human rights and put the sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women “at grave risk.” As the agency puts it in its announcement:
“Emphasizing a woman’s virginity is a form of gender discrimination. The term “virginity” is not medical or scientific. Rather, it is a social, cultural, and religious construct – a construct that reflects gender discrimination against women and girls.
The social expectation that girls and women should remain “virgins” (that is, without having sexual relations) is based on stereotypical perceptions that female sexuality should be restricted within marriage.
This perception is harmful to women and girls globally.”
In Belgium, virginity tests are not prohibited - however, in 2019, the Order of Physicians called on doctors to stop participating in such practices. Hospitals, for example, in Antwerp and Brussels, occasionally accept requests for virginity certificates.
However, since 2021, it has been illegal in France for healthcare workers to issue virginity certificates, with doctors facing up to a year in prison and a fine of €15,000. In the United Kingdom, this practice is punishable by up to five years in prison from 2022.
Source: Marie Claire
