Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. Till recently, this adage was an unfortunate illustration of the lingering legacy of patriarchal notions in the Indian legal system. Despite the strides made in sexual violence jurisprudence that strove to put the victim at the core of the justice system, controversial practices such as the use of the two-finger test by law enforcement authorities to confirm rape continued to humiliate victims.

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A Supreme Court (SC) judgment on Monday hopes to put an end to that. A bench comprising justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli said it is unfortunate that the test is still prevalent in society, and asked the Centre and the states to ensure it is not conducted. The bench noted an old verdict of the apex court and held that the invasive test is a violation of a woman’s dignity and privacy. It issued a slew of directions to the Centre and state government authorities and asked the director-general of police and health secretaries of all states to ensure that the test is not conducted anymore. Despite scientific evidence and advocacy, the test has had a long life due to misplaced beliefs about women’s sexuality that have little to do with crimes such as rape. Despite a strong judgment by the SC and some efforts by the government, the use of the test — where a doctor inserts two fingers in the vagina to detect if the hymen is present, to test the vagina’s size and laxity, and the sexual history of the victim, all irrelevant factors in cases of sexual assault — continued to be accepted by legal authorities. The SC’s admonishment will hopefully be enough to excise these prejudices and ensure that the complainant’s dignity and privacy are not breached in the quest for justice.

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