A couple in France has been prosecuted and given suspended prison sentences after attempting to force their 15-year-old daughter to undergo a so-called 'virginity test' with a gynaecologist. The case, heard in La Roche-sur-Yon, emerged after the parents discovered their daughter had a boyfriend.
The Assault and Demand for a Test
The court heard that in March 2025, the girl's father, a professional boxer, slapped her multiple times upon learning she had a boyfriend. He then insisted she submit to a gynaecological examination to determine if she was sexually active. The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, reportedly suffered a panic attack and fainted when told about the planned procedure.
Her mother later defended the father's actions, claiming he lost his temper because their daughter "hid things from us even though we trusted him." The father argued the test was a harmless medical check, stating, "I ordered to take her to the gynaecologist to make sure there wasn't a problem."
Legal Consequences and Court Rulings
Public Prosecutor Sarah Huet detailed the sentences to Le Parisien. The mother received a three-month suspended prison sentence for inciting a minor to undergo an examination intended to prove her virginity. The father was charged with the same offence, plus counts of parental failure and violence without injury, receiving a six-month suspended sentence with two years' probation.
Ms Huet emphasised the severity of the intent, telling the court, "For the virginity test, the intention alone is enough. She didn't even need to see a gynaecologist," adding that the violence "in no way constitutes parental discipline." The contacted gynaecologist refused to perform the illegal examination.
Widespread Condemnation of 'Virginity Testing'
The practice is wholly illegal in France. President Emmanuel Macron explicitly condemned it in February 2020 as part of measures against "Islamist separatism," declaring, "In the Republic, one cannot require certificates of virginity to get married."
This stance is supported globally. The World Health Organisation (WHO) states the practice is unscientific, a human rights violation, and potentially harmful. French medical professionals have labelled it "barbaric, backward and totally sexist," criticising the enduring societal pressure for virginity proofs.
