A husband and wife who stated that they wanted to ensure the well-being of their 15-year-old daughter upon discovering she had a boyfriend have been charged with trying to coerce her into undergoing a virginity examination by a gynecologist.
The teenage girl, whose identity is protected by law, testified in court that her father physically assaulted her in March 2025 after learning about her relationship and then demanded the medical test.
Public Prosecutor Sarah Huet from La Roche-sur-Yon, France, disclosed to Le Parisien that the girl’s mother received a three-month suspended prison sentence for encouraging a minor to undergo a virginity examination, while the father faced charges for the same offense as well as neglecting his parental duties, which endangered the well-being of the child.
The father, a professional boxer, also faced charges of non-injurious violence and was given a six-month suspended sentence with a two-year probation period. He contended that the examination was a routine medical procedure to ensure the girl’s health, stating, “I arranged for her to see the gynecologist to ensure everything was fine.”
His wife defended his actions, attributing his outburst to their daughter’s lack of transparency despite their trust in her.
Prosecutor Huet emphasized that merely intending to conduct a virginity test was unlawful, regardless of whether the examination was carried out by a gynecologist. She clarified that the use of violence as a form of discipline was unacceptable.
Upon being informed of the planned test, the teenager reportedly experienced a panic attack and fainted.
In France, conducting a virginity test is illegal, and the gynecologist declined to perform the examination when approached by the parents.
French President Emmanuel Macron explicitly denounced virginity tests in February 2020 as part of efforts to combat what he termed “Islamist separatism,” stating that demanding virginity certificates for marriage was not permissible in the republic.
Echoing Macron’s sentiments, the World Health Organization denounced virginity testing as unscientific, a violation of human rights, and potentially harmful to individuals subjected to it.
A coalition of French medical experts criticized the practice as archaic, regressive, and inherently biased, highlighting the widespread persistence of virginity requirements in contemporary society as a more concerning issue than doctors issuing certificates of virginity without legal validity.