Abastract
Introduction and objective: Although, virginity is an undeniable value for the most societies, virginity test based one’s own request can raise many concerns. The present paper is an attempt to survey the different aspects of virginity test based on one’s own request and the mainstream approaches towards it.
Methodology: The study was carried out as a comprehensive review and through searching articles indexed in SID database and WHO, UNFPA websites between 1970 and 2018. The keywords used in the search query were “virginity,” “virginity test,” “ethical aspects,” “legal aspects,” “jurisprudential aspects,” and “approaches to virginity.”
Finding: Rather than being voluntarily, virginity test based on one’s own request is usually done under social and cultural pressures. Taking into account the relationship between virginity and family’s dignity and honor, undergoing virginity test for the fear of personal, social, and political outcomes has been criticized by many international and human rights associations. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes the action as violence against women. Some of professional societies have declared providing such services as a gross breach of professional ethics standards. Taking into account that virginity test is only done for women, there is also some of sort of sexual discrimination and double standards in it. It is also notable that according to the opinions of independent forensic medicine expert groups, the test is not reliable and nor is it clinically valid.
While many developed and developing countries, along with international bodies, have declared virginity test illegal, a sort of negligence policy is still followed with regard to the test.
In Africa, virginity test is supported by the government and the public as an old tradition. The pressures by the international communities to stop the practice of virginity test have been mostly treated by these countries as a threat to their social structure and negligence of their human rights.
In Iran and according to the queries for religious opinions, virginity test is religiously prohibited (Haram). Virginity test based on one’s own request is in contrary with the clauses of patient’s right charter and the necessity to respect human dignity and honor, confidentiality, free choice, providing health services based on the codes of treating the patient with respect, and the principle 22 of the constitution that recognizes and respects one’s privacy. Despite all these and legal bans on virginity tests based on one’s own request, it is performed widely in private clinics by midwives, general practitioners, forensic medicine experts, and women specialist.