Virginity Tests Have Been Banned in Romania after Campaign Carried Out by DDB Romania
The certificates of women's virginity, carried out at the request of individuals, have been officially eliminated in Romania, following a joint order of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice, published last week in the Official Gazette. Thus, genital examinations to establish virginity can now only be carried out as part of official procedures, at the request of the authorities, and not at the request of individuals, as was the case until recently. The decision was taken after civil society raised the alarm about these tests - considered by the World Health Organisation to be a violation of human rights - through a national social campaign to have these certifications removed by law. #UnExaminable attracted more than 40,000 signatures following the online petition and generated a strong national and international media impact, as well as several international awards.
Until now, two types of virginity tests could be carried out in forensic units in Romania: those related to a criminal investigation and those carried out on request by parents - especially fathers. In 2019, in Romania, virginity tests accounted for 2% of all examinations in units under the Mina Minovici Institute of Legal Medicine (INML) - that is, about 1,000 tests per year. The examinations were carried out in various forensic units in the country, in all counties.
Considered an intrusive procedure that can have harmful physical and psychological effects on women, the practice of virginity testing among women at the request of individuals has been officially abolished, following a joint order of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice, published on Tuesday 2 May this year in the Official Gazette, Part I, No 370.
Order abolishing virginity tests published in the Official Gazette
Order No 1.434/687/C/2023 aims to amend the "Procedural rules on the performance of expert examinations, findings and other forensic work", contained in Order No 255/1.134/C/2000, in order to eliminate a practice involving an intrusive procedure which has an impact on the psyche of women. This order abolishes the practice of testing the virginity of women, at the request of individuals, regardless of age, by examining the hymenal integrity, ascertaining the state of virginity and issuing a forensic certificate on the state of virginity.
From now on, virginity certification tests for women can only be carried out under official procedures at the request of the authorities. At the same time, it will only be possible to determine a person's sexual capacity, age, conformation or physical development, and to establish obstetric status in cases of pregnancy, widowhood, abortion, childbirth or childbirth.
#UnExaminable, a wake-up call on the effects of virginity tests, managed to put pressure
In June 2022, the creative agency DDB Romania, member of thegroup, in partnership with the Network for the Prevention and Combating of Violence Against Women (V.I.F.), raised an alarm about the existence of this type of abusive and traumatic forensic test, to which young women in Romania could be subjected: the virginity test. By drawing a parallel between the maturity exam (BAC exam) and the virginity test, also known as the "two-finger exam", which was still being practised at the time in forensic medicine units in Romania, the #UnExaminable social campaign was launched, a pro bono project which aimed to eliminate these virginity tests, considered by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to be a violation of human rights. According to the WHO, there is no scientific evidence that the method can prove whether or not a woman or young woman has had vaginal sex. Medically speaking, hymen inspection is less than 10% accurate in determining virginity in girls and women examined. So the test is virtually useless and the procedure can cause trauma to those examined.
The #UnExaminable campaign consisted of a touching video starring a teenage girl undergoing the test just before the BAC exams. In the film, the young girl talks about the anxiety she often faces before her upcoming exams.
The subject of the campaign was launched for debate on the public agenda in the summer of 2022, and was followed by an online petition to abolish these examinations, addressed to the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Forensic Medicine. More than 40,000 signatures were collected in this petition, which was run on the platform of the non-governmental organisation Campaniamea.Declic.ro, in just one week after the campaign was launched. At the same time, less than a week after the launch of the project, the Mina Minovici Institute of Legal Medicine in Bucharest (INML) announced that it will no longer issue virginity certificates on request, regardless of age.
Also, a number of well-known influencers in Romania - including Dana Rogoz, Sore, Atena Boca, Oana Trifu, Noemi Meilman, Sînziana Sooper, Beatrice Olaru and Alma Cazacu, Ada Galeș, Andreea Retinschi and Silviu Faiăr - got involved in supporting the campaign and campaigned for the abolition of the virginity certificate, nicknamed the "two-finger exam".
"The fact that these virginity certificates, which were carried out until now and at the request of individuals, have been officially eliminated in Romania is an important step towards normality, but also the culmination of all our efforts in the #UnExaminable campaign. We thank all those who got involved in supporting the cause and made this victory possible", says Roxana Memetea, managing partner DDB Romania, the agency behind the #UnExaminable campaign.
At the same time, in 2022, DDB Romania won several important awards for its #UnExaminable campaign, namely: it was named "Agency of the Year for Romania" and received a Gold trophy at Eurobest 2022 (the prestigious European creative festival, part of Cannes Lions), a Gold trophy at London International Awards 2022 (creative festival) and a Silver trophy at Cresta Awards 2022 (one of the most important international festivals dedicated to creativity in communication).
"Our aim in running the #UnExaminable campaign was to show that virginity is just a social, cultural and religious concept, reflecting gender discrimination against girls and women, but also that these tests have no medical meaning and can cause psychological damage to those who support them. We have succeeded in communicating this very sensitive issue, nationally and internationally. We are delighted to have generated such a strong impact, both in the public opinion and among the Romanian authorities", says Roxana Nita, Creative Director of DDB Romania.
#UnExaminable is a campaign signed by DDB Romania agency, realized pro bono in partnership with the Network for the Prevention and Combat of Violence Against Women (VIF), and communicated with the support of ABIS Studio, Porter Novelli Romania, Media Investment, director Iulia Rugină, actress Voica Oltean, composer Mihai Dobre and photographer Adi Bulboacă.
