The petitioners write that it is ‘incomprehensible’ that gynaecologists and obstetricians are not prohibited from issuing certificates of virginity in a country which, since 2013, has a national action plan in place to promote emotional and sexual health.
The practice has been officially denounced by the World Health Organisation, which has sanctioned countries including South Africa, Morocco and Brazil for the practice.
Belgium and France also received criticism for issuing such certificates until recently, but have since reformed their regulations to ban the practice.
In 2019, then-Luxembourg Health Minister Étienne Schneider said that the practice had not been documented in Luxembourg, although he acknowledged that there was no formal ban on doctors issuing such certificates.
According to the petitioners the practice is medically unsound and discriminatory, as it particularly affects vulnerable young women.
They write that often it is families putting pressure on young people to get such certificates, due to ‘rumours about their child’ or because they want proof that their daughter is still a virgin.
