Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, has welcomed the Government's move to ban 'virginity testing' after an amendment to the Health and Care Bill was passed in the House of Commons.
Virginity testing, where women are examined to see if their hymen is intact, is set to be outlawed in England and Wales. The amendments to the Health and Care Bill make it illegal to make examinations that falsely claim to be able to determine whether a women or a girl has had vaginal intercourse by examining the female genitalia. Additionally, anyone helping girls or women get the tests in the UK or abroad, which includes an intrusive vaginal examination, could face up to five years in prison or an unlimited fine.
Richard Holden, Member of Parliament for North West Durham, introduced the Virginity Testing (Prohibition) Bill earlier this year and Nusrat was an early sponsor of the Bill.
Nusrat Ghani said: “Virginity testing is medieval, inhumane, and degrading and it has no place in 21st century Britain. Now, hopefully it will soon be a criminal offence as the practice was outlawed in amendments to the Government's new Health and Care bill which were accepted last month.”
