This archive report was first published on 4 December 2019.
Published on December 4, 2019
Democratic legislator Michaelle Solages has proposed a bill to ban virginity tests in New York state, citing the World Health Organization's (WHO) stance that the examination has no scientific basis.
The bill aims to prohibit doctors from performing the examination, which Solages describes as 'often painful and humiliating'. If approved, doctors who carry out the test could lose their license, and others could face charges of sexual assault.
The proposal comes after American rapper T.I. sparked outrage by saying he takes his 18-year-old daughter to a gynaecologist every year to check her hymen. T.I. told a podcast that he asks the doctor to check her hymen and 'give me back my results expeditiously'. Solages has condemned T.I.'s comments, saying they send a message that women are property.
The WHO has called for an end to the practice, noting that the appearance of a woman's hymen cannot prove whether she has had sexual intercourse. The hymen is a thin tissue that surrounds or partially covers the entrance to the vagina, and it can be damaged in many ways, such as riding a horse.
