The question of virginity testing in Turkey

Bioethics. 1999 Jul;13(3-4):256-61. doi: 10.1111/1467-8519.00154.

Abstract

Pre-marital sex for a woman is regarded as wrong in my country. As a result, it is socially forbidden for a woman to engage in this act. In order to present a woman as a virgin on her marriage day, she is subjected to pressure, and put under control both by her family and societal norms. However, a man is free and never made to suffer any of the above. A woman found to be a virgin on her first night of marriage is seen as a normal person while one suspected to have lost her virginity is made to undergo a series of medical examinations to bring clarity to her situation.

MeSH terms

  • Behavior Control*
  • Behavior*
  • Coercion
  • Female
  • Feminism
  • Forensic Medicine
  • Human Rights
  • Humans
  • Jurisprudence
  • Moral Obligations
  • Patient Care
  • Physician's Role*
  • Physician-Patient Relations
  • Sexuality*
  • Single Person*
  • Social Control, Formal*
  • Social Responsibility
  • Stereotyping
  • Turkey
  • Women*