Some women in the United Kingdom are not receiving proper medical care, and it's happening for a bizarre reason — because they're virgins.
According to VICE World News, at least five women have been denied internal examinations. Those women were told it's because they aren't yet sexually active.
Apparently, that goes against the advice of their ultrasound guidelines. But that means that a lot could be missed when it comes to their medical care. It's also leaving women in pain and without answers.
An internal pelvic exam is a fairly basic medical procedure. It involves a probe that goes about 2 inches into the vaginal canal. It's essential for examining women's reproductive organs and can help determine the cause of pelvic pain, as well as find cysts and many other common conditions women experience.
The five women who spoke with VICE confirmed that their accounts with both male and female staff happened over the last two years. A 30-year-old who wanted her identity to be protected told the outlet that staff at Croydon University Hospital told her she couldn't receive the exam due to her status as a virgin. She was seeking help for painful and heavy periods but was denied proper care.
"I couldn't believe the language she was using," she said of what her doctor told her about her status as a virgin being the reason.
“It’s 2022, for crying out loud," she told VICE. "Women have to lie just to get their health checked, because apparently our well-being revolves around men. This is what purity culture has done to us.”
Another woman, 26-year-old Sophie Hayward, had the exact same experience, only hers took place in Leicester. She said, “I don't want to feel like I am forced to just lose my virginity to a random stranger just to get a test done which is beneficial to me.”
Denying women internal ultrasounds is not only wrong, it's potentially dangerous. Certain conditions could be missed because doctors are refusing to provide care. That may be the case for Hayward, who feels desperate for answers as to what is causing her pelvic pain. She said that in addition to denying her an exam, her doctor told her it was “due to religious beliefs as I am a virgin and her beliefs don't allow her to even risk breaking my hymen.”
“It is absolutely shocking and myself it was upsetting because at the time I was just begging for answers as to why I was in daily pain for over 2 years and felt like I was denied ways to answers because of my choice to not have sex yet,” she said. “I would have literally accepted any test just for an answer to my pain.”
Experts agree that there is no medical or scientific basis for denying women who are not sexually active this form of care, and as long as consent is given, all women should be able to access it.
Dr. Edward Morris, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, told VICE, “Every woman deserves to have control over their own sexual and reproductive health, and no healthcare professional should perpetuate harmful myths regarding virginity.”
