AAP govt faces fire over 'two-finger test', withdraws advisory

Under attack over its advisory permitting conduct of 'two-finger' test on rape victims, the Delhi government today said the ban on the controversial procedure to ascertain sexual assault will continue.
"As per the instructions, it is advised that the medical professionals should not perform the two finger test unless it is medically required for only treatment purposes.
"It cannot be performed for ascertaining sexual assaults. More scientific methods will be adopted for this purpose," Health Minister Satyendra Jain said.
Claiming that the advisory has been "misinterpreted", Jain, who met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal following the controversy, said, "Today we held a meeting and we are issuing a fresh notification. The earlier advisory was misinterpreted."

The Delhi government had recently issued an advisory to its hospitals stating that Per Vaginal (PV) examination, also referred to as 'two-finger test', for rape survivors can be conducted with their consent.
The advisory said, "To do away with this essential pelvic examination would amount to incomplete assessment of the survivor, which will ultimately result in injustice and low conviction rates."

It said "informed consent" of the victim should be taken before conducting the test.
A PV test involves insertion of a finger or two into the rape survivor's private parts for assessment of internal injuries, use of force if any, noting any discharge and gathering of sample, among others.

The two-finger test on victims of sexual assault and rape is banned as per the Union Health Ministry's guidelines. Even the Supreme Court had in 2013 noted that the test violated the victim's right to privacy.