Universal-Womens-accesss-to-justice-Publications-Practitioners-Guide-Series-2016-ENG

240 PRACTITIONERS GUIDE No. 12
The IFEG defined “virginity testing” as “a gynaecological
examination that is intended to correlate the status and
appearance of the hymen with previous sexual contact to
determine whether a female has had or is habituated to sexual
intercourse”. 647 These are practiced in many countries in a
number of contexts, including:
In places of detention;
On women who allege rape;
On women accused of prostitution; and
As part of public or social policies to control sexuality.
The IFEG found that these tests were:
Medically unreliable with no clinical or scientific value;
Inherently discriminatory;
Result in significant physical and mental pain and
suffering;
Where committed by healthcare professionals may be
a violation of the ethics governing he profession;
Where committed forcibly and involving vaginal
penetration can constitute sexual assault or rape; and
Where committed forcibly can constitute torture or
cruel, inhuman and degrading. 648
Sentencing of convicted perpetrators of gender-based
violence
According to the UN Handbook: “Sentences imposed in cases of
violence against women within countries have varied, been
inconsistent and often informed by discriminatory attitudes…
Experience shows that the introduction of sentencing guidelines
647
Independent Forensic Expert Group, (2015) 33 J Forensic Leg Med
121-124, page 1.
648
Ibid, page 5.