Supreme Courts Big Relief To Rape Survivors

Supreme Court Declares the Two-Finger Test Unscientific and Patriarchal, Banning It for Rape Survivors, according to the court, a woman’s privacy and dignity are violated by the “two-finger test.”

The Supreme Court on Monday quashed the 2-finger test for rape survivors calling it unscientific and a symbol of patriarchy. The top court said that it is very unfortunate that such practice still exists in society and asked the Centre and the states to remove it from the curriculum of government and private medical colleges.

The “two-finger test” is an affront to the dignity and privacy of women, the court ruled. It is patriarchal and sexist to suggest that a woman cannot be believed when she claims that she was raped simply because she is sexually active, Justice DY Chandrachud emphasized during the hearing.

The court issued a warning, saying, “The two-finger test must not be conducted,” noting that the procedure re-victimizes and re-traumatizes the women. The test is founded on the false presumption that a woman who is sexually active cannot be raped. Nothing is more false than that.

The bench described the practice as “patriarchal” and “sexist” while upholding the conviction in a rape case.

“This court has time and again deprecated the use of two finger test in cases alleging rape and sexual assault. The so-called test has no scientific basis and is an invasive method of examining rape survivors…It instead re-victimizes and re-traumatizes women”.

Justice Chandrachud read out the operative part of a decision in a criminal case and ruled that the two-finger test must not be used. The notion that a sexually active woman cannot be raped is the foundation of the test, which is untrue. There is no possible way that this is true.

The two-finger test and its interpretation unquestionably violate the right to privacy, physical and mental integrity, and dignity of rape survivors, the top court declared in 2013, when it asked the government to replace it. Because of this, even if the report is positive, there cannot automatically be a presumption of consent based on this test.