In Indonesia, it is still common for women to be seen as second-class citizens in society and it addresses a patriarchal system in many cases. The virginity testing is one of the cases of a harmful discriminatory practice against a woman that has been used for female police applicants (polwan), the Indonesia National Armed Forces by the Indonesian National Police (POLRI) since 1965 (Dewi, 2022). There are four key arguments: virginity testing in Indonesia constitutes a violation of women’s rights under international law, infringes upon their bodily autonomy through unlawful state interference, protest represents a recognized form of human rights, and sustains harmful social stigma that endures despite the implementation of legal reforms. Therefore, it is essential to examine virginity testing as a violation of human rights.
Virginity testing is a long-standing tradition for at least 20 countries worldwide. The endurance of virginity testing for over five decades reveals how deeply embedded patriarchal norms are within state institutions, which paradoxically claim to uphold human rights while simultaneously violating them. In Indonesia, virginity testing aims to recognize the past sexual behavior of a woman police candidate by examining their hymen. These women are expected not to have any sexual experience as they will be considered as a “broken” or “worthless” woman. Before entering the selection stage as a women police, there are two common methods that are used for virginity testing. The first one is the inspection of the hymen for tears or the size of the opening and the second is to insert the two fingers into the vagina. However, these two techniques are not valid for scientific evidence since some women are born without a hymen, otherwise, there are many cases when women have accidents that cause damage to their hymen.
In 2014, Human Rights Watch exposed the practice of virginity tests by Indonesian security forces and proved that the government failed to effectively stop the practice. A patriarchal system that has embedded to the police system prevents the government to have a responsive approach to this issue. In fact, Indonesia has ratified Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 16 of the Convention against Torture by enactment of the Republic of Indonesia No 12 of 2005 of ICCPR. Article 7 stated, “to protect both the dignity and the physical and mental integrity of the individual”. It includes virginity testing that violates the physical and mental integrity of women as it has an impact on severe mental illness. According to HRW (2014), many women described the test as painful, humiliating, and degrading, leading to long-term anxiety and distrust toward state institutions. Thus, the ICCPR strictly condemns Indonesia for dismissing virginity testing.
Virginity testing is a part of the negative right, duty bearer which is a state as an authority has to limit themselves to not interfere right to privacy and freedom toward society as a rights holder. The abuse of power by the state of its power relation caused a violation of human rights by interfering with women’s privacy. It is not surprising that the right to privacy and freedom has always been an issue in Indonesia. Therefore, state parties are mandated to supervise non-discriminatory protection for men and women. Based on civil and political rights, it reflects the claim of freedom and personal security, by Article 3 of the ICCPR. Moreover, Article 71 of the Human Rights Law highlights the government’s duty to preserve human rights controlled by the international law to human rights that has been recognized by Indonesia.
Certainly, the practice was put to an end in June 2021 when Army Chief General Andika Perkasa raised the issue of discriminatory selection towards female recruits by not recruiting someone based on their virginity test and focusing on their physical ability and academic test. He also emphasized the importance of not getting a medical checkup or virginity test for the fiancées of male officers. By employing the protest school as a human rights-based approach, awareness regarding the human rights violations inherent in virginity testing has been significantly elevated. Women as marginalized people to this issue have asserted their right to refuse such testing, as Indonesian police applicants speak out on this discriminatory testing. Thus, the government has responded by seeking to uphold this right through the abolition of virginity testing for female recruits.
However, although the virginity test no longer exists in the military or police, the long-lasting impact is still deeply rooted in Indonesia. Primarily, the virginity test in the military creates an indirect idea to doctrine society and defines the value of a woman based on their “virginity”. The absence of formal apology or public redress mechanisms reflects a failure to fulfill the right to remedy as guaranteed by international human rights law. Thus, up to this day, society in Indonesia stigmatizes women based on their “virginity” and it becomes an endangering issue for women as it leads to mistreatment and circulates back to the violation of human rights.
In conclusion, virginity testing in Indonesia exemplifies a grave violation of women’s rights, contradicting international standards such as the ICCPR, which protects physical and mental integrity. As a negative right, women’s bodily autonomy demands non-interference by the state, yet this has been repeatedly breached. The protest school approach has played a crucial role in raising awareness and challenging discriminatory practices through a human rights lens. Although official testing has ended, the cultural stigma persists. To fulfill its obligations under the ICCPR, Indonesia must provide redress, ensure equality, and eliminate all remnants of virginity-based discrimination in both policy and society.
