Dakshayani Velayudhan Digital Archive

The traumatic practise of two-finger test of rape survivor was held to be violative of victim’s privacy, mental integrity and dignity. The test seems to have no scientific basis and tends to re-traumatize the victim. The test was conducted to check the previous sexual experience of the woman cannot be made as a conclusive proof of consent. The test has no relevance as it is not backed by any medical or forensic evidence. The method itself is the outcome of the prejudiced social attitude that demands virginity from unmarried women. Society recalls that purity and chastity were the so-called ideal to be closely held by women. But such a cruel inhuman act amounts to neglecting the mental agony they were subjected to with a sole intention to prove their sexual history. The court further stated that previous sexual experience is irrelevant in determining the issue of consent. Thus the court has banned the practice.