Part 5: Virginity Testing and Hymenoplasty Offences Virginity testing offences: England and Wales Section 136: Offence of virginity testing: England and Wales
Section 136(1) makes it an offence under the law of England and Wales for a person to carry out virginity testing. The person must either be in England and Wales or, if the person is outside the United Kingdom, they must be a United Kingdom national or habitually resident in England and Wales. The victim of the testing does not need to be a United Kingdom national or resident.
	Section 136(2) defines virginity testing as the examination of female genitalia, with or without consent, for the purpose (or purported purpose) of determining virginity. As it is not in fact possible to determine whether a woman or girl has ever had sexual intercourse by examining their genitalia, the person carrying out the testing would either have the belief that they could make such a determination from the examination, or making such a determination would be the ostensible reason for carrying out the test. The purpose, or purported purpose, which the person carrying out the test has is the mens rea, or mental element, of the offence.
	There is no reliable way of establishing virginity, nor is there any clinical reason to know if a woman or girl is a virgin. As such, the purpose of a healthcare, safeguarding or forensic examination would never be to establish virginity or otherwise, and a defence to this effect has therefore not been included in the offence.
	"United Kingdom national" is defined in Section 136(4).
	Section 136(5) defines "female genitalia" as a vagina or vulva.