The Encyclopedia
of World Problems
& Human Potential

Virginity tests

Name(s):

Chastity enforcement

Nature

In many societies, women are expected to be virgins until they marry. The presence of an intact hymen confirms that a woman is a virgin. Doctors can easily test for this. Male virginity tests are unheard of.

Incidence

In Turkey, girls can be forced by parents or school authorities to take a virginity test. If the girl is not a virgin, she can be expelled from school, charged with prostitution, and will probably face trouble from her family. Girls have committed suicide rather than take the test. No test exists for boys.

Broader

Chastity

Discrimination against women

Sexual discrimination in education

Double standards of sexual morality

Aggravates

Juvenile suicide

Aggravated by

Gender bias in raising children

Value(s)

Type

(G) Very specific problems

About the Encyclopedia

The Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential is a unique, experimental research work of the Union of International Associations. It is currently published as a searchable online platform with profiles of world problems, action strategies, and human values that are interlinked in novel and innovative ways. These connections are based on a range of relationships such as broader and narrower scope, aggravation, relatedness and more. By concentrating on these links and relationships, the Encyclopedia is uniquely positioned to bring focus to the complex and expansive sphere of global issues and their interconnected nature.

The initial content for the Encyclopedia was seeded from UIA’s Yearbook of International Organizations. UIA’s decades of collected data on the enormous variety of association life provided a broad initial perspective on the myriad problems of humanity. Recognizing that international associations are generally confronting world problems and developing action strategies based on particular values, the initial content was based on the descriptions, aims, titles and profiles of international associations.

About UIA

The Union of International Associations (UIA) is a research institute and documentation centre, based in Brussels. It was established in 1907, by Henri la Fontaine (Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 1913), and Paul Otlet, a founding father of what is now called information science.

Non-profit, apolitical, independent, and non-governmental in nature, the UIA has been a pioneer in the research, monitoring and provision of information on international organizations, international associations and their global challenges since 1907.

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Virginity tests

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