Virginity testing: Police warning after GP asked to carry out procedure

Most victims at risk of virginity testing and hymenoplasty are between 13 and 30, but girls as young as six are affected, police said

Police have warned of the dangers of virginity testing after a GP reported they were asked to "prove" a teenager was still a virgin.

South Yorkshire Police said a GP in the region reported they had been visited by a teenage victim and a family member and were asked to carry out a test.

Both hymenoplasty and virginity testing are illegal in the UK.

Police said the practices were "forms of brutal violence against women and girls" and would not be tolerated.

Virginity testing is checking the hymen is intact, while hymenoplasty is creating an artificial layer of tissue to imitate the hymen.

'Dangerous, unacceptable and illegal'

The force said as well as the "intrusive medieval practices" potentially causing physical harm, they can cause serious long-term physical and mental trauma.

Suzanne Jackson, lead for honour-based abuse, forced marriage and female genital mutilation at South Yorkshire Police, said: "[They] are dangerous, unacceptable and illegal, used to subject women and girls to cruel and coercive violence.

"No woman or girl should be pressured to prove their virginity as an indicator of their self-worth to anyone, including family members."

She said the practices were often linked to other offences limiting the freedoms of women and girls.

Natasha Rattu, who supports victims of honour-based violence and forced marriage through organisation Karma Nirvana, said the procedures "reflect patriarchal control over women's bodies".

Virginity testing and hymenoplasty have been a criminal offence in the UK since 2022, including accompanying a woman or girl to a test.

The law also covers a UK national carrying out virginity testing outside the UK, with a penalty of up to five years in prison.

Police said anyone with female genitalia, including people who are intersex, non-binary, or trans, were at risk of harm and were protected by the legislation.

Anyone with information about incidents should contact police, the force said.

Victims should also get support through Karma Nirvana, Childline or Sheffield-based group Ashiana.

Police said the South Yorkshire victim was being supported during their investigation.

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