The British government has introduced legislation to criminalize “virginity repair” surgery, often known as hymenoplasty.
Any technique that attempts to repair the hymen will be banned under an amendment to the health care bill added on Monday, Jan. 24, regardless of whether the individual undergoing the surgery consents or not.
According to WION News, an increasing number of clinics, private hospitals, and pharmacies offer the controversial surgery, guaranteeing the restoration of virginity, with a high number of girls and young ladies forced into the process.
The goal of this operation is to make a girl or woman bleed the next time she has sexual intercourse by generating a hymen out of scar tissue.
Since the government announced plans to criminalize virginity testing in July, campaigners, including doctors and midwives, have campaigned for the surgery to be banned.
Engaging in either of these activities is considered a form of violence against women and girls.
According to one British survivor of “honor”-based abuse who was tormented by her parents for months after having the operation, the ban will provide important protection to females under family pressure.
According to Dr. Edward Morris, head of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, hymenoplasty can never be justified on medical grounds.
He stated that they have been working with women’s health and rights organizations to advocate for a prohibition on both virginity testing and hymenoplasty, as both are intimately related to violence against women and girls.
He stated that none of these techniques has a place in the medical world and should never be conducted and that if they hear that someone is carrying out these surgeries, they will notify the General Medical Council so that proper action can be taken.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said on its official Twitter page: “We’re so pleased to see @GOVUK has tabled an amendment to the Health and Care Bill to ban hymenoplasty alongside virginity testing, these two harmful practices are inextricably linked and it’s essential that they are together as part of the same change in the law.
“We will continue to work closely with the Government to ensure there is guidance, support, and education for healthcare professionals on how to safeguard women as the ban comes into force.”
