SAN DIEGO — A California assemblywoman representing San Diego County wants to ban "virginity testing." California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) introduced Assembly Bill 1909 on Wednesday.
"Virginity testing" is when a doctor will inspect a woman's vagina to try to determine whether or not she has had vaginal sex before. This is sometimes known as "the hymen test."
“So-called ‘virginity testing’ is a form of violence and harassment against young girls and women,” Assemblywoman Gonzalez said. “There is no medical reason for this examination. It’s time for California to listen to calls from the international community and ban this traumatizing, sexist and unnecessary practice.”
The bill reads: "This bill would prohibit a healing arts licensee, as defined, from performing an examination or test on a patient for the purpose of determining whether the patient is a virgin. The bill would also make a violation of its provisions unprofessional conduct and grounds for disciplinary action by the licensing board for the healing arts licensee."
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for an end to the practice.
"As shown in a systematic review on virginity testing, the examination has no scientific merit or clinical indication – the appearance of a hymen is not a reliable indication of intercourse and there is no known examination that can prove a history of vaginal intercourse," said WHO. "Furthermore, the practice is a violation of the victim’s human right."
The controversial practice, along with its validity, came into question in 2019 when rapper T.I. said that he took his 18-year-old daughter to the gynecologist to see if she was a virgin. The comment was said during an interview with Nazanin Mandi and Nadia Moham on the podcast "Ladies Like Us." T.I. has six children.
New York Assemblywoman Michaelle C. Solages proposed banning virginity testing last month.
