‘Hymen Checks’ – Assessing the Use of Two-Finger Tests in India’s Judicial Discourse on Rape

Two-finger test refers to the physical examination of female genitalia for the purpose of determining virginity. This colonial-era test is invasive and degrading, has no scientific basis, and can neither prove nor disprove allegations of rape. In 2013, the Indian Supreme Court emphasised that this archaic test violates the right to privacy, bodily integrity and dignity of the rape prosecutrix. This article assesses the use of these tests in 1,908 judgments of rape by studying district court judgments from Delhi and Kerala and high court judgments in India. The data analyses show that two-finger test continues to find a mention in some judgments, revealing a lack of respect for women’s bodily autonomy and exposing their unfair treatment within the legal system. Such an implementation gap exposes how even landmark Supreme Court precedents in India are not sufficiently powerful to dislodge the deep-rooted androcentric assumptions about ‘ideal’ rape victims.