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Indons got it right. Pretty Virgins only for Mata. Whole world must follow.
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Female candidates for the Indonesian armed forces attending a medical check-up at the Diponegoro Military Command Headquarters in Semarang, Central Java, in 2014. The selection includes a virginity test. Photo: Alamy
LIFESTYLE
Virginity tests put Indonesian women off military service; often performed by men, they are seen as degrading
Despite Indonesia’s police force ending virginity tests on female applicants last year, the armed forces still perform the invasive procedure in a country where only 5 per cent of active soldiers and police officers are female
Amanda Siddharta
UPDATED : Thursday, 23 Aug 2018, 4:43PM
70
Rianti’s childhood dream was to serve in the Indonesian National Armed Forces. So when she turned 20 last year, she signed up for entry tests for a military posting in Jayapura, the provincial capital of Papua. She was told that the first day involved only administrative paperwork. When she saw women walking in and out of a small room in the test centre, though, she became curious.
“I didn’t know why they were being called into the room, but I remember the women’s expressions when they walked out. They looked grim,” says Rianti, who asks that her real name be withheld to protect her privacy.
Indonesian forces drink snake blood, roll in glass to impress Mattis
When it was finally her turn, Rianti walked in with three other young female candidates. Inside the room, four medical staff – three men and one woman – were waiting. Rianti was told to undress and put on a gown for a health examination. She could feel her heart sink when she found out she was about to undergo a virginity test.
Once Rianti had laid down on one of the hospital beds, a male doctor inserted two fingers into the opening of her vagina to determine whether her hymen was still intact. Meanwhile, the woman on the medical team held up a flashlight while mumbling something inaudible.
“I just wanted it to be over as quickly as possible. It felt like the longest few minutes of my life. I had never been touched by a man before, it was humiliating. I was shocked,” Rianti says.
Indonesian officers measuring the height of a female candidate applying for the armed forces. Photo: AFP
That night, she asked one of her uncles who is in the military how a male doctor could be allowed to carry out a virginity test on a woman. She told him it felt like sexual harassment. Her uncle simply dismissed her query, however, and told her that the policy had only recently changed. Now, female candidates could be tested by men.
STYLE
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“I felt nauseous just thinking about it,” she says.
What was worse for Rianti was that she had to undergo the virginity test twice. She says the second time was during the next step of her entry tests, in the headquarters of the National Armed Forces in Bandung, West Java province.
“It was quicker than the first time, and the doctor who checked was a woman. But I had to undress and had male doctors check other things like my skin and breasts,” says the 21-year-old.
I think many people in the armed forces are not aware that you cannot always determine whether a man or woman is a virgin or not. There’s no science behind it
ANDREAS HARSONO, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Laws governing both the National Armed Forces and the Indonesian National Police state that new recruits must be physically healthy and are thus subject to a mandatory health inspection to be enlisted.
The virginity test first came under the spotlight in 2014 when a report by Human Rights Watch revealed that women applying to join the Indonesian security forces were checked not only for their health, but also for whether they had had any prior sexual experience.
Indonesia’s independent National Commission on Violence against Women condemned the virginity test, calling it an act of discrimination against women that violates the Indonesian constitution.
Moreover, passing the virginity test does not guarantee the candidate will be enrolled in the armed forces. In Rianti’s case, she says that she did not make the cut.
Female police officers in Jakarta. The Indonesian police force announced that it would stop virginity tests on female police applicants in November last year. Photo: Shutterstock
Andreas Harsono, an Indonesian researcher for Human Rights Watch, says that the practice has been going on for more than five decades. And because of the lack of female doctors in the armed forces and the police, 70 per cent of the medical staff who perform the tests are male, although they are usually accompanied by a female nurse.
“I think many people in the armed forces are not aware that you cannot determine whether a man or woman is a virgin or not. There’s no science behind it,” Harsono tells the Post.
Andreas Harsono, an Indonesian researcher for Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch says that because the practice is degrading to women, virginity tests are a violation of human rights, according to Article 7 of the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 16 of its Convention against Torture. Indonesia ratified both treaties, in 2006 and 1998 respectively.
Currently only 5 per cent of personnel in both the Indonesian National Armed Forces and the Indonesian National Police are women. As of last year, according to the Global Firepower index, which ranks the military strength of nations, there were more than 435,000 active military personnel in the southeast Asian nation. Meanwhile, National Police Chief Tito Karnavian says the force employs more than 430,000 active personnel.
We want human resources who are clean and healthy because it’s for the long term and they have to face difficult terrain in the field
MAJOR GENERAL MOHAMAD SABRAR FADHILAH
Fitri Bintang Timur, a researcher in the department of politics and international relations at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, believes virginity tests could hurt the government’s attempt to encourage more women to join the military.
“Especially in increasingly conservative Indonesia, it will be a problem for women or their families to accept such a test,” she tells the Post. “They will see it as indecent, unless they are from a military or police background. You don’t have to go through a virginity test for other jobs.”
In June, Indonesia was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. One of the country’s focus points, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, is to increase the role of women as civil officers and as uniformed personnel in UN peacekeeping missions. As of this year, Indonesia had sent 2,694 military and police personnel on nine missions, of whom only 81 were women.
With such a grave shortage of female soldiers and police officers in the country, boosting the participation of women in international missions is difficult.
“For example, many of the UN missions need the army corps of engineers to help with building roads. Here, most of the corps’ members are men. If we have female army engineers, we’d need them in Indonesia,” Fitri says.
A female member of the Indonesian Special Army Forces (left) and one from the marines (right) show their martial arts skills as they mark Kartini Day in Jakarta in 2013. The event commemorates the birth of Raden Ajeng Kartini, an Indonesian heroine born in 1879, a pioneer in the emancipation of Indonesian women. Photo: AFP
She adds that the Indonesian police force has realised that the virginity tests are a problem. Police force spokesperson Brigadier General Rikwanto said in November last year that the tests are no longer performed on female applicants.
Sri Rumiati, a retired police officer, is not fully convinced. She says that although the practice may have been abolished in the capital, Jakarta, authorities in other regions might still be subjecting women to a virginity test.
“In a country as big as Indonesia, it’s hard to detect,” she told BBC Indonesia.
While she was still working as a police officer, Rumiati says, she often urged the police to stop conducting virginity tests. She believes it is against the country’s laws that are in place to protect women from all forms of discrimination.
Swimsuits in a cartoon? Careful, Indonesia’s censors are in overdrive
Meanwhile, spokesperson Major General Mohamad Sabrar Fadhilah of the National Armed Forces says the public misunderstands the issue of virginity tests.
“We do a health examination, and [the doctors] check the private parts. It’s the same for male candidates. We want human resources who are clean and healthy because it’s for the long term and they have to face difficult terrain in the field,” he tells the Post.
Rianti, who says she was traumatised by the virginity test, has no intention of applying a second time to join the army.
“Most of my friends who failed the entry test don’t want to do it again either. I don’t care if I can’t fulfil my childhood dream. I prefer to not get touched again just to be in the army,” she says.
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HK
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Female candidates for the Indonesian armed forces attending a medical check-up at the Diponegoro Military Command Headquarters in Semarang, Central Java, in 2014. The selection includes a virginity test. Photo: Alamy
LIFESTYLE
Virginity tests put Indonesian women off military service; often performed by men, they are seen as degrading
Despite Indonesia’s police force ending virginity tests on female applicants last year, the armed forces still perform the invasive procedure in a country where only 5 per cent of active soldiers and police officers are female
Amanda Siddharta
UPDATED : Thursday, 23 Aug 2018, 4:43PM
70
Rianti’s childhood dream was to serve in the Indonesian National Armed Forces. So when she turned 20 last year, she signed up for entry tests for a military posting in Jayapura, the provincial capital of Papua. She was told that the first day involved only administrative paperwork. When she saw women walking in and out of a small room in the test centre, though, she became curious.
“I didn’t know why they were being called into the room, but I remember the women’s expressions when they walked out. They looked grim,” says Rianti, who asks that her real name be withheld to protect her privacy.
Indonesian forces drink snake blood, roll in glass to impress Mattis
When it was finally her turn, Rianti walked in with three other young female candidates. Inside the room, four medical staff – three men and one woman – were waiting. Rianti was told to undress and put on a gown for a health examination. She could feel her heart sink when she found out she was about to undergo a virginity test.
Once Rianti had laid down on one of the hospital beds, a male doctor inserted two fingers into the opening of her vagina to determine whether her hymen was still intact. Meanwhile, the woman on the medical team held up a flashlight while mumbling something inaudible.
“I just wanted it to be over as quickly as possible. It felt like the longest few minutes of my life. I had never been touched by a man before, it was humiliating. I was shocked,” Rianti says.
Indonesian officers measuring the height of a female candidate applying for the armed forces. Photo: AFP
That night, she asked one of her uncles who is in the military how a male doctor could be allowed to carry out a virginity test on a woman. She told him it felt like sexual harassment. Her uncle simply dismissed her query, however, and told her that the policy had only recently changed. Now, female candidates could be tested by men.
STYLE
Get updates direct to your inbox
Sign up now
“I felt nauseous just thinking about it,” she says.
What was worse for Rianti was that she had to undergo the virginity test twice. She says the second time was during the next step of her entry tests, in the headquarters of the National Armed Forces in Bandung, West Java province.
“It was quicker than the first time, and the doctor who checked was a woman. But I had to undress and had male doctors check other things like my skin and breasts,” says the 21-year-old.
I think many people in the armed forces are not aware that you cannot always determine whether a man or woman is a virgin or not. There’s no science behind it
ANDREAS HARSONO, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Laws governing both the National Armed Forces and the Indonesian National Police state that new recruits must be physically healthy and are thus subject to a mandatory health inspection to be enlisted.
The virginity test first came under the spotlight in 2014 when a report by Human Rights Watch revealed that women applying to join the Indonesian security forces were checked not only for their health, but also for whether they had had any prior sexual experience.
Indonesia’s independent National Commission on Violence against Women condemned the virginity test, calling it an act of discrimination against women that violates the Indonesian constitution.
Moreover, passing the virginity test does not guarantee the candidate will be enrolled in the armed forces. In Rianti’s case, she says that she did not make the cut.
Female police officers in Jakarta. The Indonesian police force announced that it would stop virginity tests on female police applicants in November last year. Photo: Shutterstock
Andreas Harsono, an Indonesian researcher for Human Rights Watch, says that the practice has been going on for more than five decades. And because of the lack of female doctors in the armed forces and the police, 70 per cent of the medical staff who perform the tests are male, although they are usually accompanied by a female nurse.
“I think many people in the armed forces are not aware that you cannot determine whether a man or woman is a virgin or not. There’s no science behind it,” Harsono tells the Post.
Andreas Harsono, an Indonesian researcher for Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch says that because the practice is degrading to women, virginity tests are a violation of human rights, according to Article 7 of the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 16 of its Convention against Torture. Indonesia ratified both treaties, in 2006 and 1998 respectively.
Currently only 5 per cent of personnel in both the Indonesian National Armed Forces and the Indonesian National Police are women. As of last year, according to the Global Firepower index, which ranks the military strength of nations, there were more than 435,000 active military personnel in the southeast Asian nation. Meanwhile, National Police Chief Tito Karnavian says the force employs more than 430,000 active personnel.
We want human resources who are clean and healthy because it’s for the long term and they have to face difficult terrain in the field
MAJOR GENERAL MOHAMAD SABRAR FADHILAH
Fitri Bintang Timur, a researcher in the department of politics and international relations at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta, believes virginity tests could hurt the government’s attempt to encourage more women to join the military.
“Especially in increasingly conservative Indonesia, it will be a problem for women or their families to accept such a test,” she tells the Post. “They will see it as indecent, unless they are from a military or police background. You don’t have to go through a virginity test for other jobs.”
In June, Indonesia was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. One of the country’s focus points, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, is to increase the role of women as civil officers and as uniformed personnel in UN peacekeeping missions. As of this year, Indonesia had sent 2,694 military and police personnel on nine missions, of whom only 81 were women.
With such a grave shortage of female soldiers and police officers in the country, boosting the participation of women in international missions is difficult.
“For example, many of the UN missions need the army corps of engineers to help with building roads. Here, most of the corps’ members are men. If we have female army engineers, we’d need them in Indonesia,” Fitri says.
A female member of the Indonesian Special Army Forces (left) and one from the marines (right) show their martial arts skills as they mark Kartini Day in Jakarta in 2013. The event commemorates the birth of Raden Ajeng Kartini, an Indonesian heroine born in 1879, a pioneer in the emancipation of Indonesian women. Photo: AFP
She adds that the Indonesian police force has realised that the virginity tests are a problem. Police force spokesperson Brigadier General Rikwanto said in November last year that the tests are no longer performed on female applicants.
Sri Rumiati, a retired police officer, is not fully convinced. She says that although the practice may have been abolished in the capital, Jakarta, authorities in other regions might still be subjecting women to a virginity test.
“In a country as big as Indonesia, it’s hard to detect,” she told BBC Indonesia.
While she was still working as a police officer, Rumiati says, she often urged the police to stop conducting virginity tests. She believes it is against the country’s laws that are in place to protect women from all forms of discrimination.
Swimsuits in a cartoon? Careful, Indonesia’s censors are in overdrive
Meanwhile, spokesperson Major General Mohamad Sabrar Fadhilah of the National Armed Forces says the public misunderstands the issue of virginity tests.
“We do a health examination, and [the doctors] check the private parts. It’s the same for male candidates. We want human resources who are clean and healthy because it’s for the long term and they have to face difficult terrain in the field,” he tells the Post.
Rianti, who says she was traumatised by the virginity test, has no intention of applying a second time to join the army.
“Most of my friends who failed the entry test don’t want to do it again either. I don’t care if I can’t fulfil my childhood dream. I prefer to not get touched again just to be in the army,” she says.
Indonesia grapples with female circumcision problem
MORE ARTICLES BY
Amanda Siddharta
Five things to see in Jakarta during 2018 Asian Games, or any time
Indonesian schemes to help Islamist militants reform face criticism
Indonesia’s fishermen turn to shark finning to feed demand for delicacy
MORE ON LIFESTYLE
INTERIORS & LIVING
Asia’s first vertical forest could reshape how cities…
FILM & TV
Explorer’s film gives voice to forest tribes amid…
LIFESTYLE
Digital revolution slipping further away from globe’s…
LONG READS
The man who has dined at more than 7,300 Chinese…
FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS
Forget SATs, Chinese students need new application…
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Netflix’s Salt Fat Acid Heat ushers in new age of…
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How to steam fish: key recipe for first-time cooks to…
HK | INTERNATIONAL
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BROWSE TOPICS
MOST VIEWED
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SEARCH
Women’s rights
Indonesia’s questionable virginity tests for female police and military recruits
By: Tom O'Connell - Posted on: August 29, 2018 | Current Affairs
The practice of attempting to verify the virginity – and ostensibly the morality – of female police and military recruits has been in place in Indonesia since as early as 1965. Human Rights Watch recently called for an end to it, citing a lack of women personnel for United Nations peacekeeping missions. According to Jakarta Feminist Discussion Group founder Kate Walton, “one’s sexual status has no link to one’s morals”
Indonesian military and police recruits – those who happen to be female are subject to an anachronistic, decades-old practice Photo: AFP
Human Rights Watch recently called for Indonesia to cease its more than half-century practice of “virginity tests” for female applicants to its national police force and military, and even for the fiancées of military officers, in order to fill a shortage of UN peacekeepers. Why do you think this is being done?
Supposedly it is to determine whether a woman is of good morals or not. Premarital sex remains taboo in Indonesia, and is broadly seen as a sign of an immoral woman. The thinking goes that policewomen and female soldiers and officers, plus the wives of men in the military and the police, should be of a better moral class than the average woman – how are they to guard and protect the country if they cannot guard and protect themselves?
Are these “two finger” virginity tests even a valid way to determine if a woman has had sexual intercourse?
No, neither the ‘two finger’ method (in which the index and middle fingers are used to find the hymen) nor other methods such as using a torch to inspect a woman’s genitals can actually determine whether a woman has had sexual intercourse. Hymens can and often do break way before a woman becomes sexually active, such as through sport, while some women are not even born with hymens. It’s a completely unscientific method.
Is there anyone in power in Indonesia advocating for ending the practice?
A number of retired policewomen have done so, such as Brigadier General Sri Rumiati (Ret.), who has said that the tests are in violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Women’s groups also frequently raise the issue in the media and at major protests such as International Women’s Day. The issue comes up every year, and each time, the police and the military say they will end or have ended the practice, yet it seems to remain in place.
Would more Indonesian women be interested in becoming cops and soldiers if this practice were ended?
I think women who are already interested would be more likely to pursue these careers, yes. Women who have undergone the tests say that the process is incredibly embarrassing, not to mention potentially career-ending if they are determined not to be a virgin. But generally speaking, the average person isn’t interested in becoming a policewoman or a solider for a variety of reasons – difficulty of entering, including fees (both official and unofficial) that must be paid, hard work conditions, and low pay.
Related reading:
Indonesia drafts proposal to ban same sex relations
A tweet from Indonesia’s Air Force Twitter account launches an…
‘Majority of Indonesians still regard homosexuality as a deviation,’ says…
How do normal citizens feel about virgin tests? What are the barriers to ending the practice?
Many people don’t actually known that virginity tests are used on candidates – a quick poll I conducted on Twitter at the end of June showed that one-third of the almost 700 respondents were unaware of the tests. That said, many do feel that policewomen and female soldiers must be of ‘good moral character’, and although they do not support the invasive physical tests, they believe that there must be some sort of check in place to ensure that ‘immoral’ women do not enter the forces. The practice could be easily ended if the heads of police and military demanded it be eradicated; unfortunately, convincing them of the discriminatory and shameful nature of the tests is not an easy task.
Kate Walton is an Australian journalist, activist and founder of the Jakarta Feminist Discussion group in Jakarta, where she is based.
This article was published in the August 2018 edition of Southeast Asia Globe magazine. For full access, subscribe here.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter for the latest updates.
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Women’s rights
Indonesia’s questionable virginity tests for female police and military recruits
By: Tom O'Connell - Posted on: August 29, 2018 | Current Affairs
The practice of attempting to verify the virginity – and ostensibly the morality – of female police and military recruits has been in place in Indonesia since as early as 1965. Human Rights Watch recently called for an end to it, citing a lack of women personnel for United Nations peacekeeping missions. According to Jakarta Feminist Discussion Group founder Kate Walton, “one’s sexual status has no link to one’s morals”
Indonesian military and police recruits – those who happen to be female are subject to an anachronistic, decades-old practice Photo: AFP
Human Rights Watch recently called for Indonesia to cease its more than half-century practice of “virginity tests” for female applicants to its national police force and military, and even for the fiancées of military officers, in order to fill a shortage of UN peacekeepers. Why do you think this is being done?
Supposedly it is to determine whether a woman is of good morals or not. Premarital sex remains taboo in Indonesia, and is broadly seen as a sign of an immoral woman. The thinking goes that policewomen and female soldiers and officers, plus the wives of men in the military and the police, should be of a better moral class than the average woman – how are they to guard and protect the country if they cannot guard and protect themselves?
Are these “two finger” virginity tests even a valid way to determine if a woman has had sexual intercourse?
No, neither the ‘two finger’ method (in which the index and middle fingers are used to find the hymen) nor other methods such as using a torch to inspect a woman’s genitals can actually determine whether a woman has had sexual intercourse. Hymens can and often do break way before a woman becomes sexually active, such as through sport, while some women are not even born with hymens. It’s a completely unscientific method.
Is there anyone in power in Indonesia advocating for ending the practice?
A number of retired policewomen have done so, such as Brigadier General Sri Rumiati (Ret.), who has said that the tests are in violation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Women’s groups also frequently raise the issue in the media and at major protests such as International Women’s Day. The issue comes up every year, and each time, the police and the military say they will end or have ended the practice, yet it seems to remain in place.
Would more Indonesian women be interested in becoming cops and soldiers if this practice were ended?
I think women who are already interested would be more likely to pursue these careers, yes. Women who have undergone the tests say that the process is incredibly embarrassing, not to mention potentially career-ending if they are determined not to be a virgin. But generally speaking, the average person isn’t interested in becoming a policewoman or a solider for a variety of reasons – difficulty of entering, including fees (both official and unofficial) that must be paid, hard work conditions, and low pay.
Related reading:
Indonesia drafts proposal to ban same sex relations
A tweet from Indonesia’s Air Force Twitter account launches an…
‘Majority of Indonesians still regard homosexuality as a deviation,’ says…
How do normal citizens feel about virgin tests? What are the barriers to ending the practice?
Many people don’t actually known that virginity tests are used on candidates – a quick poll I conducted on Twitter at the end of June showed that one-third of the almost 700 respondents were unaware of the tests. That said, many do feel that policewomen and female soldiers must be of ‘good moral character’, and although they do not support the invasive physical tests, they believe that there must be some sort of check in place to ensure that ‘immoral’ women do not enter the forces. The practice could be easily ended if the heads of police and military demanded it be eradicated; unfortunately, convincing them of the discriminatory and shameful nature of the tests is not an easy task.
Kate Walton is an Australian journalist, activist and founder of the Jakarta Feminist Discussion group in Jakarta, where she is based.
This article was published in the August 2018 edition of Southeast Asia Globe magazine. For full access, subscribe here.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter for the latest updates.
EMAIL*
Subscribe
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
Credit Bureau Cambodia: The power of data
NEXT ARTICLE
How Singapore's first zero-waste store is leading the charge against plastic pollution
TRENDING
Cambodia's own travel booking platform targets jet-setting families and locals Cambodia’s own travel booking platform targets jet-setting families and locals
Increase in flooding will devastate SE Asia in near future, reports warn Increase in flooding will devastate SE Asia in near future, reports warn
Whatever happened to... the liberation of Marawi City Whatever happened to… the liberation of Marawi City
Malaysia: activists welcome bills to abolish colonial-era laws with cautious optimism Malaysia: activists welcome bills to abolish colonial-era laws with cautious optimism
The road is clear for solar energy in Cambodia, says UNDP director The road is clear for solar energy in Cambodia, says UNDP director
Latest Stories
Current Affairs
Photos of the week
In pictures: the anniversaries of two monarchs’ deaths, Zahid on trial and Boracay Island’s revival
Cambodia
The Future of Energy
The road is clear for solar energy in Cambodia, says UNDP director
Featured
Coconut creations
Southeast Asian cuisine: what to do with your leftover coconuts
Current Affairs
Environment
EU to launch programme to tackle SE Asia’s alarming plastic pollution rates
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November 22, 2017 3:47PM EST
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Indonesia: No End to Abusive ‘Virginity Tests’
Military, Police Claim Discriminatory Practice is for ‘Morality Reasons’
Print
201711Asia_Indonesia_VirginityTest Members of the Indonesian Air Force parade during celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the Air Force at Halim Perdanakusuma air base in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 9, 2016.EXPAND
Members of the Indonesian Air Force parade during celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the Air Force at Halim Perdanakusuma airbase in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 9, 2016. © 2016 Beawiharta/Reuters
(Jakarta) – Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo should order Indonesia’s police chief and armed forces commander to immediately ban so-called “virginity tests” of female applicants, Human Rights Watch said today. By ending the practice, the Indonesian government would be abiding by its international human rights obligations and honoring the goals of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, 2017.
Senior military and police officers with knowledge of the “virginity testing” policy told Human Rights Watch that the security forces continue to impose these cruel and discriminatory “tests,” which are officially classified as “psychological” examinations, for “mental health and morality reasons.”
“The Indonesian government’s continuing tolerance for abusive ‘virginity tests’ by the security forces reflects an appalling lack of political will to protect the rights of Indonesian women,” said Nisha Varia, women’s rights advocacy director. “These tests are degrading and discriminatory, and they harm women’s equal access to important job opportunities.”
The Indonesian government’s continuing tolerance for abusive ‘virginity tests’ by the security forces reflects an appalling lack of political will to protect the rights of Indonesian women.
Nisha Varia
Advocacy Director, Women’s Rights Division
Virginity testing is a form of gender-based violence and is a widely discredited practice. In November 2014, the World Health Organization issued guidelines that stated, “There is no place for virginity (or ‘two-finger’) testing; it has no scientific validity.” Human Rights Watch first exposed the use of “virginity tests” by Indonesian security forces in 2014, but since then the government has failed to take the necessary steps to prohibit the practice.
An Indonesian military doctor told Human Rights Watch that senior military personnel were well-aware of the arguments against “virginity tests,” but were unwilling to abolish them. The doctor suggested that stopping the tests required the direct and explicit intervention of Indonesian Armed Forces commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo to order an end to the practice. “The military is a top-down organization. We have to follow orders.”
Jokowi should declare an immediate prohibition of “virginity tests” by the military and police and create an independent monitoring mechanism to ensure that security forces comply.
The testing includes the invasive “two-finger test” to determine whether female applicants’ hymens are intact, findings that are scientifically baseless. While Human Rights Watch found that applicants who were deemed to have “failed” were not necessarily penalized, all of the women with whom we spoke with described the test as painful, embarrassing, and traumatic.
Several Indonesian military and police officers told Human Rights Watch that both security forces have also sought to justify the “two-finger test” as means of determining if applicants are pregnant. The “two-finger test” cannot determine pregnancy status, and employment discrimination based on pregnancy status is in any event a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Indonesia’s international legal obligations.
All branches of the Indonesian military – air force, army, and navy – have used “virginity tests” for decades and, in certain circumstances, also extended the requirement to the fiancées of military officers. In May 2015, then-commander of Indonesia's armed forces, General Moeldoko, responded to criticism of “virginity tests,” by saying to the media, “So what's the problem? It’s a good thing, so why criticize it?”
Indonesian military spokesman Fuad Basya that same month asserted that “virginity tests” are a means of screening out inappropriate female recruits. “If they are no longer virgins, if they are naughty, it means their mentality is not good,” Basya told The Guardian. Current Indonesian Armed Forces chief Nurmantyo has taken no steps to ban the practice.
Human Rights Watch has documented the use of abusive “virginity tests” by security forces in Egypt, India, and Afghanistan as well as in Indonesia and criticized calls for “virginity tests” for school girls in Indonesia.
“Virginity tests” have been recognized internationally as a violation of human rights, particularly the prohibition against “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” under article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and article 16 of the Convention against Torture, both of which Indonesia has ratified. The United Nations Human Rights Committee, the international expert body that monitors compliance with the ICCPR, states in a General Comment that the aim of article 7 is “to protect both the dignity and the physical and mental integrity of the individual.” Coerced virginity testing compromises the dignity of women and violates their physical and mental integrity.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and other human rights treaties prohibit discrimination against women. Because men are not subjected to virginity testing, the practice constitutes discrimination against women as it has the effect or purpose of denying women on a basis of equality with men the ability to work as police officers.
“Indonesian women who seek to serve their country by joining the security forces shouldn’t have to subject themselves to an abusive and discriminatory ‘virginity test’ to do so,” Varia said. “The Indonesian police and military cannot effectively protect all Indonesians, women and men, so long as a mindset of discrimination permeates their ranks.”
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العربية 简体中文 English Français Deutsch 日本語 Português Русский Español More
November 22, 2017 3:47PM EST
Languages
Available In简体中文 English Bahasa Indonesia
Indonesia: No End to Abusive ‘Virginity Tests’
Military, Police Claim Discriminatory Practice is for ‘Morality Reasons’
201711Asia_Indonesia_VirginityTest Members of the Indonesian Air Force parade during celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the Air Force at Halim Perdanakusuma air base in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 9, 2016.EXPAND
Members of the Indonesian Air Force parade during celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the Air Force at Halim Perdanakusuma airbase in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 9, 2016. © 2016 Beawiharta/Reuters
(Jakarta) – Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo should order Indonesia’s police chief and armed forces commander to immediately ban so-called “virginity tests” of female applicants, Human Rights Watch said today. By ending the practice, the Indonesian government would be abiding by its international human rights obligations and honoring the goals of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, 2017.
Senior military and police officers with knowledge of the “virginity testing” policy told Human Rights Watch that the security forces continue to impose these cruel and discriminatory “tests,” which are officially classified as “psychological” examinations, for “mental health and morality reasons.”
“The Indonesian government’s continuing tolerance for abusive ‘virginity tests’ by the security forces reflects an appalling lack of political will to protect the rights of Indonesian women,” said Nisha Varia, women’s rights advocacy director. “These tests are degrading and discriminatory, and they harm women’s equal access to important job opportunities.”
The Indonesian government’s continuing tolerance for abusive ‘virginity tests’ by the security forces reflects an appalling lack of political will to protect the rights of Indonesian women.
Nisha Varia
Advocacy Director, Women’s Rights Division
Virginity testing is a form of gender-based violence and is a widely discredited practice. In November 2014, the World Health Organization issued guidelines that stated, “There is no place for virginity (or ‘two-finger’) testing; it has no scientific validity.” Human Rights Watch first exposed the use of “virginity tests” by Indonesian security forces in 2014, but since then the government has failed to take the necessary steps to prohibit the practice.
An Indonesian military doctor told Human Rights Watch that senior military personnel were well-aware of the arguments against “virginity tests,” but were unwilling to abolish them. The doctor suggested that stopping the tests required the direct and explicit intervention of Indonesian Armed Forces commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo to order an end to the practice. “The military is a top-down organization. We have to follow orders.”
Jokowi should declare an immediate prohibition of “virginity tests” by the military and police and create an independent monitoring mechanism to ensure that security forces comply.
The testing includes the invasive “two-finger test” to determine whether female applicants’ hymens are intact, findings that are scientifically baseless. While Human Rights Watch found that applicants who were deemed to have “failed” were not necessarily penalized, all of the women with whom we spoke with described the test as painful, embarrassing, and traumatic.
Several Indonesian military and police officers told Human Rights Watch that both security forces have also sought to justify the “two-finger test” as means of determining if applicants are pregnant. The “two-finger test” cannot determine pregnancy status, and employment discrimination based on pregnancy status is in any event a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Indonesia’s international legal obligations.
All branches of the Indonesian military – air force, army, and navy – have used “virginity tests” for decades and, in certain circumstances, also extended the requirement to the fiancées of military officers. In May 2015, then-commander of Indonesia's armed forces, General Moeldoko, responded to criticism of “virginity tests,” by saying to the media, “So what's the problem? It’s a good thing, so why criticize it?”
Indonesian military spokesman Fuad Basya that same month asserted that “virginity tests” are a means of screening out inappropriate female recruits. “If they are no longer virgins, if they are naughty, it means their mentality is not good,” Basya told The Guardian. Current Indonesian Armed Forces chief Nurmantyo has taken no steps to ban the practice.
Human Rights Watch has documented the use of abusive “virginity tests” by security forces in Egypt, India, and Afghanistan as well as in Indonesia and criticized calls for “virginity tests” for school girls in Indonesia.
“Virginity tests” have been recognized internationally as a violation of human rights, particularly the prohibition against “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” under article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and article 16 of the Convention against Torture, both of which Indonesia has ratified. The United Nations Human Rights Committee, the international expert body that monitors compliance with the ICCPR, states in a General Comment that the aim of article 7 is “to protect both the dignity and the physical and mental integrity of the individual.” Coerced virginity testing compromises the dignity of women and violates their physical and mental integrity.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and other human rights treaties prohibit discrimination against women. Because men are not subjected to virginity testing, the practice constitutes discrimination against women as it has the effect or purpose of denying women on a basis of equality with men the ability to work as police officers.
“Indonesian women who seek to serve their country by joining the security forces shouldn’t have to subject themselves to an abusive and discriminatory ‘virginity test’ to do so,” Varia said. “The Indonesian police and military cannot effectively protect all Indonesians, women and men, so long as a mindset of discrimination permeates their ranks.”
Your tax deductible gift can help stop human rights violations and save lives around the world.
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KNN this is the real nric virginity test KNN
Sure virgin...no decent man in his right mind will touch her with a 10 foot pole. But with so many ah nehs around n they touch anything I say she got hope
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Indonesian police deny allegations of 'virginity testing' females — but they must be 'good looking'
BY TASHA WIBAWA
UPDATED 27 MINUTES AGO
Five policewomen in uniforms with their hands outstretched.
PHOTO An inspector-general told the ABC that the recruits had to be "not only pretty" but "good looking" too.
SUPPLIED: DETIK NEWS
Indonesia's police force has hit back at allegations that female recruits must undergo virginity tests, but confirmed that the women do have to be "not only pretty, but good looking".
Key points:
HRW claim female police recruits undergo invasive virginity tests
A senior police officer says many females are "average" but they all have "individual skills"
There are currently some 30,000 female police officers out of a total 461,000 officers
Last month, the ABC cited a Human Rights Watch report that found Indonesian women looking to become police officers in the country continue to undergo an invasive "two-finger" virginity test, despite international pressure to end the practice.
"Of course we would test people's health, but not their virginities — I've asked the doctors," inspector-general and former chief spokesman Setyo Wasisto told the ABC.
PHOTO Mr Wasisto said virginity testing "has never been an issue" in Indonesia.
An Indonesian man in a police general uniform wearing glasses.
SUPPLIED: HUMAS POLRI
While the tests are not on the books as an official requirement, HRW and observers claimed that it was still conducted throughout the country under the guise of a "morality" examination.
The ABC also obtained a complaint filed by a woman who reported failing the invasive test and subsequently being denied entry to the force.
Indonesian woman Zakia — whose family name was not included to protect her identity — claimed the test was not conducted by a medical doctor, while adding that a female police officer also inserted her fingers into her anus.
Mr Wasisto denied these claims, but did confirm that "proportionality" examinations are conducted on both male and female recruits, which is reportedly a mixture of determining one's Body Mass Index in addition to a physical appearance and health inspection.
HRW responded to Mr Wasisto's denial saying that since their research earlier this year which involved senior police officials, they have still received complaints that the practice is continuing, and that they would welcome the prospect of jointly reviewing the recruitment process to confirm the virginity tests are not happening anymore.
Meanwhile, various studies on the recruitment processes in Indonesia reported that female recruits had to be "pretty, good girls", as a key part of their role involved mingling with the public and playing down the image of the corrupted, male police officer.
Measured by 'purity and beauty'
Potential female police officer recruits are reported to have to undergo a "two-finger" virginity test and be "pretty".
Mr Wasisto confirmed that indeed it is a requirement for the female recruits to be pretty.
"They not only have to be pretty, they also have to be good looking, because being good looking is relative," Mr Wasisto said.
"It depends on the recruits' task — if their task is [in PR] then of course we find someone that is good looking.
"Come to our headquarters, there are many female police officers who are average, but they all have their own individual skills."
The reports last month came on the heels of the growing "pretty policewomen" phenomenon — or, #polwancantik — as a trending buzzword on Indonesian social media users that's attracted hundreds of thousands of posts.
Mr Wasisto said there are currently some 30,000 female police officers out of a total 461,000 police officers in the country.
He emphasised that while they are still under-represented, they can also do the same tasks as men in the force.
POSTED 32 MINUTES AGO
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Indonesian police deny allegations of 'virginity testing' females — but they must be 'good looking'
BY TASHA WIBAWA
UPDATED 27 MINUTES AGO
Five policewomen in uniforms with their hands outstretched.
PHOTO An inspector-general told the ABC that the recruits had to be "not only pretty" but "good looking" too.
SUPPLIED: DETIK NEWS
Indonesia's police force has hit back at allegations that female recruits must undergo virginity tests, but confirmed that the women do have to be "not only pretty, but good looking".
Key points:
HRW claim female police recruits undergo invasive virginity tests
A senior police officer says many females are "average" but they all have "individual skills"
There are currently some 30,000 female police officers out of a total 461,000 officers
Last month, the ABC cited a Human Rights Watch report that found Indonesian women looking to become police officers in the country continue to undergo an invasive "two-finger" virginity test, despite international pressure to end the practice.
"Of course we would test people's health, but not their virginities — I've asked the doctors," inspector-general and former chief spokesman Setyo Wasisto told the ABC.
PHOTO Mr Wasisto said virginity testing "has never been an issue" in Indonesia.
An Indonesian man in a police general uniform wearing glasses.
SUPPLIED: HUMAS POLRI
While the tests are not on the books as an official requirement, HRW and observers claimed that it was still conducted throughout the country under the guise of a "morality" examination.
The ABC also obtained a complaint filed by a woman who reported failing the invasive test and subsequently being denied entry to the force.
Indonesian woman Zakia — whose family name was not included to protect her identity — claimed the test was not conducted by a medical doctor, while adding that a female police officer also inserted her fingers into her anus.
Mr Wasisto denied these claims, but did confirm that "proportionality" examinations are conducted on both male and female recruits, which is reportedly a mixture of determining one's Body Mass Index in addition to a physical appearance and health inspection.
HRW responded to Mr Wasisto's denial saying that since their research earlier this year which involved senior police officials, they have still received complaints that the practice is continuing, and that they would welcome the prospect of jointly reviewing the recruitment process to confirm the virginity tests are not happening anymore.
Meanwhile, various studies on the recruitment processes in Indonesia reported that female recruits had to be "pretty, good girls", as a key part of their role involved mingling with the public and playing down the image of the corrupted, male police officer.
Measured by 'purity and beauty'
Potential female police officer recruits are reported to have to undergo a "two-finger" virginity test and be "pretty".
Mr Wasisto confirmed that indeed it is a requirement for the female recruits to be pretty.
"They not only have to be pretty, they also have to be good looking, because being good looking is relative," Mr Wasisto said.
"It depends on the recruits' task — if their task is [in PR] then of course we find someone that is good looking.
"Come to our headquarters, there are many female police officers who are average, but they all have their own individual skills."
The reports last month came on the heels of the growing "pretty policewomen" phenomenon — or, #polwancantik — as a trending buzzword on Indonesian social media users that's attracted hundreds of thousands of posts.
Mr Wasisto said there are currently some 30,000 female police officers out of a total 461,000 police officers in the country.
He emphasised that while they are still under-represented, they can also do the same tasks as men in the force.
POSTED 32 MINUTES AGO
SHAREEmail Facebook Twitter
RELATED
'They want good girls': Indonesian policewomen chosen for 'purity', subjected to virginity tests
A white bedsheet, a bride's wedding night humiliation
Why beauty is becoming a moral imperative for us all — men included
MORE STORIES
Paul Keating says raising super to 12 per cent will 'barely cut it'
An apprentice was sent into a workplace his employer knew was unsafe. He died 12 days later
I spied on sick people so insurance companies could find fraud. Here’s what I found
Corrupt cop provides more details of relationship with Trudie Adams' murder suspect
The My Health Record opt-out deadline is tomorrow night. Here's what you need to know
'There's no personal care for her': Life for a 102-year-old in Bupa aged care
Brexit closer to reality as Britain and EU reach draft divorce deal
‘Barbaric and inhumane’: why do so few rapists go to jail?
Analysis: Stan Lee made heroism human, no matter what you looked like
Energy 'confusion-opoly': Why 1 million households are paying too much for electricity
MORE FROM ABC NEWS
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November 22, 2017 3:47PM EST
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Indonesia: No End to Abusive ‘Virginity Tests’
Military, Police Claim Discriminatory Practice is for ‘Morality Reasons’
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EXPAND
Members of the Indonesian Air Force parade during celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the Air Force at Halim Perdanakusuma airbase in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 9, 2016.
© 2016 Beawiharta/Reuters(Jakarta) – Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo should order Indonesia’s police chief and armed forces commander to immediately ban so-called “virginity tests” of female applicants, Human Rights Watch said today. By ending the practice, the Indonesian government would be abiding by its international human rights obligations and honoring the goals of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, 2017.
Senior military and police officers with knowledge of the “virginity testing” policy told Human Rights Watch that the security forces continue to impose these cruel and discriminatory “tests,” which are officially classified as “psychological” examinations, for “mental health and morality reasons.”
“The Indonesian government’s continuing tolerance for abusive ‘virginity tests’ by the security forces reflects an appalling lack of political will to protect the rights of Indonesian women,” said Nisha Varia, women’s rights advocacy director. “These tests are degrading and discriminatory, and they harm women’s equal access to important job opportunities.”
Advocacy Director, Women’s Rights Division
Virginity testing is a form of gender-based violence and is a widely discredited practice. In November 2014, the World Health Organization issued guidelinesthat stated, “There is no place for virginity (or ‘two-finger’) testing; it has no scientific validity.” Human Rights Watch first exposed the use of “virginity tests” by Indonesian security forces in 2014, but since then the government has failed to take the necessary steps to prohibit the practice.
An Indonesian military doctor told Human Rights Watch that senior military personnel were well-aware of the arguments against “virginity tests,” but were unwilling to abolish them. The doctor suggested that stopping the tests required the direct and explicit intervention of Indonesian Armed Forces commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo to order an end to the practice. “The military is a top-down organization. We have to follow orders.”
Jokowi should declare an immediate prohibition of “virginity tests” by the military and police and create an independent monitoring mechanism to ensure that security forces comply.
The testing includes the invasive “two-finger test” to determine whether female applicants’ hymens are intact, findings that are scientifically baseless. While Human Rights Watch found that applicants who were deemed to have “failed” were not necessarily penalized, all of the women with whom we spoke with described the test as painful, embarrassing, and traumatic.
Several Indonesian military and police officers told Human Rights Watch that both security forces have also sought to justify the “two-finger test” as means of determining if applicants are pregnant. The “two-finger test” cannot determine pregnancy status, and employment discrimination based on pregnancy status is in any event a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Indonesia’s international legal obligations.
All branches of the Indonesian military – air force, army, and navy – have used “virginity tests” for decades and, in certain circumstances, also extended the requirement to the fiancées of military officers. In May 2015, then-commander of Indonesia's armed forces, General Moeldoko, responded to criticism of “virginity tests,” by saying to the media, “So what's the problem? It’s a good thing, so why criticize it?”
Indonesian military spokesman Fuad Basya that same month asserted that “virginity tests” are a means of screening out inappropriate female recruits. “If they are no longer virgins, if they are naughty, it means their mentality is not good,” Basya told The Guardian. Current Indonesian Armed Forces chief Nurmantyo has taken no steps to ban the practice.
Human Rights Watch has documented the use of abusive “virginity tests” by security forces in Egypt, India, and Afghanistan as well as in Indonesia and criticized calls for “virginity tests” for school girls in Indonesia.
“Virginity tests” have been recognized internationally as a violation of human rights, particularly the prohibition against “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” under article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and article 16 of the Convention against Torture, both of which Indonesia has ratified. The United Nations Human Rights Committee, the international expert body that monitors compliance with the ICCPR, states in a General Comment that the aim of article 7 is “to protect both the dignity and the physical and mental integrity of the individual.” Coerced virginity testing compromises the dignity of women and violates their physical and mental integrity.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and other human rights treaties prohibit discrimination against women. Because men are not subjected to virginity testing, the practice constitutes discrimination against women as it has the effect or purpose of denying women on a basis of equality with men the ability to work as police officers.
“Indonesian women who seek to serve their country by joining the security forces shouldn’t have to subject themselves to an abusive and discriminatory ‘virginity test’ to do so,” Varia said. “The Indonesian police and military cannot effectively protect all Indonesians, women and men, so long as a mindset of discrimination permeates their ranks.”
Your tax deductible gift can help stop human rights violations and save lives around the world.
$50
$100
$250
$500
$1,000
Other
DONATE NOW
Show More Services
Print
Region / Country
Topic
MORE READING
Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people in 90 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice
DONATE NOW
Get Updates On Rights Issues From Around The Globe
Connect With Us
© 2019 Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch | 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor | New York, NY10118-3299 USA | t 1.212.290.4700
Human Rights Watch is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-2875808
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November 22, 2017 3:47PM EST
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Indonesia: No End to Abusive ‘Virginity Tests’
Military, Police Claim Discriminatory Practice is for ‘Morality Reasons’
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Members of the Indonesian Air Force parade during celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the Air Force at Halim Perdanakusuma airbase in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 9, 2016.
© 2016 Beawiharta/Reuters(Jakarta) – Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo should order Indonesia’s police chief and armed forces commander to immediately ban so-called “virginity tests” of female applicants, Human Rights Watch said today. By ending the practice, the Indonesian government would be abiding by its international human rights obligations and honoring the goals of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, 2017.
Senior military and police officers with knowledge of the “virginity testing” policy told Human Rights Watch that the security forces continue to impose these cruel and discriminatory “tests,” which are officially classified as “psychological” examinations, for “mental health and morality reasons.”
“The Indonesian government’s continuing tolerance for abusive ‘virginity tests’ by the security forces reflects an appalling lack of political will to protect the rights of Indonesian women,” said Nisha Varia, women’s rights advocacy director. “These tests are degrading and discriminatory, and they harm women’s equal access to important job opportunities.”
The Indonesian government’s continuing tolerance for abusive ‘virginity tests’ by the security forces reflects an appalling lack of political will to protect the rights of Indonesian women.
Nisha VariaAdvocacy Director, Women’s Rights Division
Virginity testing is a form of gender-based violence and is a widely discredited practice. In November 2014, the World Health Organization issued guidelinesthat stated, “There is no place for virginity (or ‘two-finger’) testing; it has no scientific validity.” Human Rights Watch first exposed the use of “virginity tests” by Indonesian security forces in 2014, but since then the government has failed to take the necessary steps to prohibit the practice.
An Indonesian military doctor told Human Rights Watch that senior military personnel were well-aware of the arguments against “virginity tests,” but were unwilling to abolish them. The doctor suggested that stopping the tests required the direct and explicit intervention of Indonesian Armed Forces commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo to order an end to the practice. “The military is a top-down organization. We have to follow orders.”
Jokowi should declare an immediate prohibition of “virginity tests” by the military and police and create an independent monitoring mechanism to ensure that security forces comply.
The testing includes the invasive “two-finger test” to determine whether female applicants’ hymens are intact, findings that are scientifically baseless. While Human Rights Watch found that applicants who were deemed to have “failed” were not necessarily penalized, all of the women with whom we spoke with described the test as painful, embarrassing, and traumatic.
Several Indonesian military and police officers told Human Rights Watch that both security forces have also sought to justify the “two-finger test” as means of determining if applicants are pregnant. The “two-finger test” cannot determine pregnancy status, and employment discrimination based on pregnancy status is in any event a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Indonesia’s international legal obligations.
All branches of the Indonesian military – air force, army, and navy – have used “virginity tests” for decades and, in certain circumstances, also extended the requirement to the fiancées of military officers. In May 2015, then-commander of Indonesia's armed forces, General Moeldoko, responded to criticism of “virginity tests,” by saying to the media, “So what's the problem? It’s a good thing, so why criticize it?”
Indonesian military spokesman Fuad Basya that same month asserted that “virginity tests” are a means of screening out inappropriate female recruits. “If they are no longer virgins, if they are naughty, it means their mentality is not good,” Basya told The Guardian. Current Indonesian Armed Forces chief Nurmantyo has taken no steps to ban the practice.
Human Rights Watch has documented the use of abusive “virginity tests” by security forces in Egypt, India, and Afghanistan as well as in Indonesia and criticized calls for “virginity tests” for school girls in Indonesia.
“Virginity tests” have been recognized internationally as a violation of human rights, particularly the prohibition against “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” under article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and article 16 of the Convention against Torture, both of which Indonesia has ratified. The United Nations Human Rights Committee, the international expert body that monitors compliance with the ICCPR, states in a General Comment that the aim of article 7 is “to protect both the dignity and the physical and mental integrity of the individual.” Coerced virginity testing compromises the dignity of women and violates their physical and mental integrity.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and other human rights treaties prohibit discrimination against women. Because men are not subjected to virginity testing, the practice constitutes discrimination against women as it has the effect or purpose of denying women on a basis of equality with men the ability to work as police officers.
“Indonesian women who seek to serve their country by joining the security forces shouldn’t have to subject themselves to an abusive and discriminatory ‘virginity test’ to do so,” Varia said. “The Indonesian police and military cannot effectively protect all Indonesians, women and men, so long as a mindset of discrimination permeates their ranks.”
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