Ban on 'painful' medical tests for rape proof sought
There is an urgent need to change the existing procedures of collecting medical evidence in rape cases, which further victimise survivors and inhibit justice, speakers said at a conference yesterday.
They demanded changing the definition of rape, amending the Evidence Act, 1872 banning the "two-finger test", and placing more stress on DNA tests.
Around 100 doctors, lawyers, policymakers, police officials, social service providers, and civil society members participated in the daylong conference at the capital's ICDDR,B, organised by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST).
State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury said, “Rape is not simply a human rights violation, it's a criminal offence and must be treated as such.â€
She said her ministry would take the conference's recommendations into consideration and work towards bringing the required changes.
The speakers highlighted the problematic use of the two-finger test to determine whether a woman, who is allegedly raped, is habituated to sex and whether her hymen is broken.
A survivor's sexual past can, in no way, be relevant to the justice process, said Barrister Sara Hossain, honorary executive director of BLAST.
The test is painful, traumatic and invasive for rape survivors, said Fatema Suvra, lecturer of Jagannath University, and when done without informed consent, it could itself constitute sexual assault.
According to Dr Habibuzzaman Choudhury, head of the forensic medicine department at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College, the two-finger test has no evidentiary value and scientific merits. It violates national and international human rights standards, he said.
The speakers said the definition of rape must be changed to include marital rape and other forms of sexual violence alongside penetrative sex.
Ayesha Khanam, president of Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, said not only the women and children affairs ministry, but other relevant ministries like health, law, home and education ministries should be sent copies of the recommendations.
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