Report condemns nations that still use 'vaginal tests' for rape victims

April 23 (UPI) -- A report released Friday said that rape victims in multiple South Asian nations are still being subjected to humiliating and unscientific "vaginal tests," which advocates say are violations of women's and girls' human rights.

The 70-page report, produced by women's rights organization Equality Now and Dignity Alliance International, said the tests are still being performed in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka -- and at times are even used in court cases.

The report says rape tests are still being done in India, even though they are technically illegal there.

Such tests are invasive and involve a medical practitioner physically determining whether a woman's genitalia has been altered. Most medical professionals have long said the test has no scientific value.

"It is demeaning and inhuman," said Sumeera Shrestha, executive director of the Nepali organization Women for Human Rights, according to The Guardian. "It is not just about whether rape has happened, but it's like testing your virginity."

Friday's report said Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka all allow the vaginal test, which dates back to colonial times, as evidence in court to detail a rape victim's sexual history. The assessment also said the test is part of a much larger problem of sexual violence against women throughout Southeast Asia.

"This report focuses on the problems that women and girls face while accessing the criminal justice system," the report states. "They are met with apathy and neglect at all levels, often resulting in the withdrawal of the case or long delays in adjudication.

"Despite the pervasiveness of sexual violence across the region, the laws in all the South Asian countries contain certain protection gaps which leave women and girls vulnerable to sexual violence."