SC prohibits 'two finger test' for rape survivors; calls it patriarchal, sexist

The Supreme Court on Monday (October 31) prohibited the “two-finger test” that is still used to examine survivors of rape and sexual assault, and called it a patriarchal and sexist practise which would re-traumatise the survivor.

Asking the Centre and states to ensure that the archaic practice is not conducted, a bench of justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli overturned a decision of the Jharkhand High Court acquitting a rape and murder convict, and upheld a decision of a trial court holding him guilty.

The bench said a decade-old decision of the top court had held the invasive “two-finger test” as a violation of a woman’s dignity and privacy.

“It is unfortunate that the practice is still prevalent even today. The procedure which tests vaginal laxity is an upfront on women’s dignity. It cannot be said that a sexually active woman cannot be raped,” the bench said.

Asserting that the practice has no scientific basis to establish the sexual history of women and instead traumatises the victim, the top court said any one who conducts the test after its ruling will be held guilty of misconduct.

“It is patriarchal and sexist to suggest that a woman cannot be believed when she states that she was raped merely because she was sexually active,” the top court said.

The court also directed the Centre and the health secretaries of the state to take steps to remove the study materials on two-finger tests from the curriculum of government and private medical colleges.

The bench instructed the Union Health Ministry to conduct workshops for health service provides in all states and Union territories to educate them on the right way to examine rape survivors.