Outrage After Indonesian Police Conducts Virginity Tests On New Female Recruits

Senior Indonesian police authorities have faced sharp criticism following reports that a virginity test is among the tests conducted on new female recruits who wish to join the nation’s police force. According to a USA Today report, several new women recruits have confirmed that they were coerced to undergo a virginity test before they could be admitted to the police fraternity.

The virginity test scandal has blown up after a recent recruitment drive by the Indonesian police force. It was in April that the police department went on the recruitment drive after they started facing a severe shortage of women personnel. While the women who applied for the positions were told about several requirements, a virginity test was not among them. In all, nearly 7,000 women were recruited — all of whom are currently undergoing training.

According to the Jakarta Post, at the start of the recruitment drive, the requirements were pretty clear. The new recruits had to be between 17-and-a-half and 22-years-old. The minimum qualification would be high school — and yes, they should be unmarried. Other general requirements needed the women to be “god-fearing.” This literally meant that they should be adhering to one of the six officially recognized religions in Indonesia. Physical attributes were a key too. The recruits should be at least 165 centimeters tall and should have perfect eyesight without needing glasses. Like we mentioned earlier, there was no mention of a virginity test anywhere — except for the official police recruitment website where it is still mentioned that trainees will have to pass a virginity test before they are given the job. This is the text, lifted straight from the recruitment website.

“In addition to the medical and physical tests, women who want to be policewomen must also undergo virginity tests. So all women who want to become police women should keep their virginity.”

According to Human Rights Watch, many of the trainees simply did not know that they need to pass a virginity test before they are given the job. In fact, many of them found that the test was a requirement just days before they were scheduled to take it. Human Rights Watch has termed the requirement to be “discriminatory and degrading.” An H.R.W. report cites the example of a woman who was recruited in 2013. She was shocked to learn that the physical test involved “checking our insides” and a virginity test.

“I felt embarrassed, nervous, but I couldn’t refuse. If I had refused, I couldn’t have become a policewoman.”

Other women, too, have now come in the open. Many times, these virginity tests were conducted in full view of other candidates, says another woman. All of the trainees had to undress — without any privacy whatsoever.

“Entering the virginity test examination room was really upsetting. I feared that after they performed the test I would not be a virgin anymore. They inserted two fingers. It really hurt. My friend even fainted because… it really hurt, It was painful and humiliating.”

In their defense, senior police officials at the police headquarters in Jakarta says that it is not just a virginity test.

“It’s not only a virginity test, it’s also a genital and urinary examination to check for diseases and infections.”

[Image via AOL]