INDONESIA must stop subjecting female police recruits to "degrading and discriminatory" physical tests in an effort to determine whether they are virgins, a leading human rights group has said.
Human Rights Watch said such tests were a long-standing practice in the country, where patriarchal attitudes and practices in the security forces are common.
The report was based on interviews with female police officers and police applicants in six Indonesian cities who had undergone the test to determine whether their hymens were intact.
The requirement is even posted on the jobs website for Indonesia's national police.
Indonesian police spokesman Major General Ronny Sompie urged people not to "respond negatively" to the tests, saying they were aimed at ensuring applicants were free from sexually transmitted diseases.
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