SC wants two-finger test to be stopped immediately

Mumbai, May 20: A

Bench on Monday directed the government once again to provide better medical procedures to victims of rape across the country. The apex court strategically stated that procedures like the

violated the right to privacy of the victims.

It is not the first time that insensitive treatment of rape victims has drawn flak from various agencies. A high-profile government committee recently recommended abolition of the test.

However, despite the protest and the recommendation, the test hasn't been stopped in practice.

The Human Rights Watch had interviewed activists, rape survivors, their parents, lawyers, judges, forensic experts, doctors in 2010 and analysed over 153 high court judgments on rape test conclusions and said that finger-test related information continued to be collected.

The report of the international human rights agency said that the rape victims face a harrowing time during forensic examinations, for not only are they shunted from one hospital or ward to another but also face intimidation from the police while approaching them to file their complaints.

Moreover, inserting finger into the vaginal or anal orifice of a victim, child or adult, during forensic test can lead to additional trauma. The report said that some doctors conducted the finger test with little or no regard for the survivor's pain.

OneIndia News