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The Supreme Court slammed the two-finger test on victims of sexual assault and rape, calling it patriarchal and sexist

Supreme Court stays order on Haldwani Eviction

source: PTI

The Supreme Court of India declared that any individual conducting the invasive “two-finger or three-finger vaginal test” on rape or sexual assault survivors will be found guilty of misconduct on October 31st.

A bench of justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli stated that the so-called test has “no scientific basis and neither proves nor disproves allegations of rape.”

Instead, such tests ‘re-victimize and re-traumatize women who have been sexually assaulted and are an affront to their dignity,’ the bench stated.

The Honourable Justice Chandrachud notes that the sole purpose of such tests is to determine whether the woman or girl was “habituated” to sexual intercourse. “The test is based on the incorrect assumption that a sexually active woman cannot be raped. Nothing could be further from the truth,” the bench said.

“The probative value of a woman’s testimony does not depend on her sexual history. It is patriarchal and sexist to suggest that a woman cannot be believed when she states that she was raped merely because she is sexually active,” the court added.

The apex court mentioned that the legislature had amended the criminal law in 2013 to introduce Section 53A in the Indian Evidence Act.

According to that, “the evidence of the victim’s character or her previous sexual experience with any person shall not be relevant to the issue of consent or the quality of consent in the prosecution of sexual offences,” the court held. (The Hindu)

Moreover, the bench emphasizes the sexual history of the victim as an “irrelevant” piece of information to the case and the continuation of such infamous practices to this day is “regrettable”.

In addition, the bench directed the Union Health Ministry to ensure that victims of sexual assault and rape are subjected to two finger tests.

Furthermore, the apex court has directed that workshops for health providers should be held, and the curriculum in medical school should be revised.

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