Sweden wants to ban virginity tests

STOCKHOLM: The Swedish government wants to criminalise virginity tests to strengthen the protection of young girls and women at risk of so-called honour crimes, sources told AFP on Wednesday.

Socialstyrelsen, the administration in charge of social services, said ministers were looking at imposing penalties on “virginity control” and “virginity certificates”, as well as on surgical procedures aimed at restoring the hymen. Such tests are conducted on a woman to establish whether she is a virgin, based on observation of her hymen.

The World Health Organization says the practice has no scientific basis and constitutes a violation of the sexual integrity of women. “These proposals aim to make these acts punishable and to allow their perpetrators to be convicted, which is not the case at the moment,” Socialstyrelsen told AFP.

At present, professionals who carry out virginity tests are liable only to professional disciplinary action. According to a government-commissioned report, virginity tests, the issuance of certificates and even surgical interventions are not widespread in Sweden. That could be partly explained by a significant lack of reporting, and the report noted that sometimes women undergo such tests overseas.

Honour crimes are often carried out by family members with the aim of respecting tradition or a community´s particular religious, cultural or customary requirements, according to the Council of Europe.

UN Women includes virginity testing as a harmful practice that violates human rights and puts the sexual and reproductive health and rights of young girls and women “at great risk”.