Indonesian police conducting virginity tests for new recruits

November 18, 2014 11:47 pm | Updated 11:47 pm IST - JAKARTA:

Indonesia must stop subjecting female police recruits to physical tests in an effort to determine whether they are virgins, a leading human rights group said Tuesday, describing the practice as degrading and discriminatory.

The report was based on interviews with female police officers and police applicants in six Indonesian cities who had undergone the “two-finger” test to determine whether their hymens are intact. The requirement is even posted on the jobs website for Indonesia’s national police.

On Tuesday it read, “In addition to the medical and physical tests, women who want to be policewomen must also undergo virginity tests. So all women who want to become policewomen should keep their virginity.”

Citing medical experts, Human Rights Watch said the physical tests are useless in determining virginity.

Indonesian police spokesman Maj. Gen. Ronny Sompie urged people not “respond negatively” to the tests, saying they were aimed at ensuring applicants were free from sexually transmitted diseases.

He said both male and female recruits also get blood tests for STDs. “All of this is done in a professional manner and did not harm the applicants,” Maj. Gen. Sompie said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.