In a global call against violence against women and girls, UN agencies— UN Human Rights, UN Women and the World Health Organization—have called to end virginity testing, a medically unnecessary, and often times painful, humiliating and traumatic practice.
A tradition that has been documented in at least 20 countries spanning all regions of the world, virginity tests are conducted under the belief that it can determine whether a woman or girl has had vaginal intercourse.
A form of gender discrimination, the agencies emhpasise “virginity” is not a medical or scientific term but a social, cultural and religious construct.
