POCSO Court asks authorities to take action against doctor for conducting Two Finger Test on Rape Victim

Jaipur: Taking cognizance of the fact that a doctor had conducted the two finger test, which has been banned, on a minor rape victim, a special POCSO court in Kota has ordered action against him.

The court asked the district officials to take action against the concerned doctor after finding evidence “in the medical report and in statements” of the doctor, which suggested that the doctor had conducted the test on the minor girl.

The 'two-finger test' used to be conducted on victims of sexual assault and rape to determine whether they are habituated to sexual intercourse.

Last year the Supreme Court had deprecated the "regressive" and "invasive" practice of the 'two-finger test' on rape survivors and said it has no scientific basis and instead re-victimises women who may have been sexually assaulted, and is an affront to their dignity.

Medical Dialogues had last year reported that the Supreme Court had said that the concerned test was "patriarchal" and "sexist" to suggest that a woman cannot be believed when she states that she was raped, merely for the reason that she is sexually active.

The court had noted that any person who conducts the two-finger test or per vaginum examination (while examining a person alleged to have been subjected to a sexual assault) in contravention of the directions of this court shall be guilty of misconduct.

Also Read: Remove Two finger tests from Medical Syllabus, train HCPs on appropriate procedure: SC slams govt

As per the latest media report by Indian Express, referring to the Supreme Court judgment from October 2022, the special POCSO Court in Kota comprising of Justice Deepak Dubey observed on January 4, “This deed (two finger test) is not only against the law but also against human values, human dignity and against the profession of a doctor.”

The Kota court has issued directions to the Chief Medical and Health Officer to take strong legal action against the concerned doctor who conducted the banned test. However, the court acquitted the man, who had allegedly raped the minor girl, on benefit of doubt.

The daily adds that last year the findings of an analysis conducted on the state of child protection mechanism in Rajasthan had mentioned about several references about two finger tests in medical examination of child sexual victims.

As per the analysis, conducted under the aegis of the Juvenile Justice Committee (JJC) of the Rajasthan High Court in collaboration with Resource Institute for Human Rights (RIHR) and UNICEF Rajasthan, “In several cases, the medical examination report included references to the ‘two finger test’, and conclusions that the victim was ‘habituated to sex’ and that there were no signs of rape or sexual assault, contrary to the normative standards on the contents of a medical examination report.”

Also Read: NMC to modify MBBS curriculum to address issues on Virginity Tests, Two finger Tests