HRW Report Damns India's Archaic "Finger Test" in Rape Cases

Beyond the Veil| India is making progress on so many fronts, we’re almost incredulous reading about the “finger test” or the insertion of fingers into a woman’s vagina to determine “vaginal laxity” and thereby ascertain whether a woman assaulted by rape was previously “habituated to sex”.

Presented as part of a larger Human Rights Watch report, compiled by Aruna Kashyap, a women’s rights researcher, the document has provoked widespread discussion and outrage in India, with many calling the practice dehumanizing, totally unscientific and archaic.

Preparing to write a larger article about India’s “finger test”, we offer now the NYTimes For Indian Rape Laws, Change Is Slow to Come; from The Hindu Ban finger test in rape cases;

The Indian Express states that the “finger test” continues despite a Supreme Court order against it. Former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Justice AP Shah released the HRW report saying: “As the report points out, the finger test method which continues to be used for examining rape victims is an archaic method. We need a system to sensitise judges and lawyers on a large scale,” he said.