“Had to relive the trauma”: IAF Officer subjected to ‘two-finger’ test after rape

The woman IAF officer who had lodged a complaint against a flight lieutenant at the Indian Air Force College in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district for allegedly raping her has now has levelled grave allegations against the IAF of subjecting her to the illegal two-finger test to confirm rape, adopting a hostile attitude towards her during the inquiry, and of tampering with the evidence.

According to the officer, the doctors at the academy asked her about her past sexual history and physically examined her. She was subjected to the ‘two-finger’ test which is an unethical, illegal and unscientific examination of rape victims to ascertain sexual abuse. “It made me nauseous enough to relive the trauma”, she said adding that she was not aware that the ‘two-finger’ test was banned by the Supreme court of India in 2013.

As per the WHO, the ‘two-finger’ test which is essential rape in itself is unethical as a detailed examination of the hymen alone is often questionable in cases of suspected rape. Apart from the violation of human rights, the test “could cause additional pain and mimic the original act of sexual violence, leading to re-experience, re-traumatisation and re-victimisation.”

The Incident:

The 29-year-old officer, who lives in the college facilities had sustained an injury on September 10th following which she took a painkiller, and that evening joined her colleagues at the officers’ mess bar, where the accused offered to pay for her second drink. After this, she felt sick and was accompanied by her friends to her room, who latched the door from outside before leaving. This was when the accused allegedly came into the room and sexually assaulted her.

On September 11 as she wanted to file a complaint, she was told to meet the senior officers who gave her two options — either file a complaint or give a written statement that everything was consensual. She was also told that “if she could endure the pain of the ankle injury, she could also deal with the pain of seeing her rapist on campus.”

The IAF authorities had maintained that since the crime happened inside the Airforce Administrative College (AFAC) campus in Red fields, Coimbatore and as both the Flight Lieutenant and the victim cadet are serving officers, only the defence court can conduct an enquiry into the matter and also informed the court that they wanted to take over the case and take action under the Airforce Act.

However, since they did not act on the complaint for over 2 weeks and the investigation was unsatisfactory, the woman approached the Coimbatore City All Women Police who then arrested Amitesh – the accused flight lieutenant officer upon filing of the compaint.

The officer’s account of the incident has brought forth a lack of empathy and sensitization while dealing with cases of sexual assault. For instance, the survivor in her FIR states that the presiding officer in her complaint was rude and unempathetic throughout. He also allegedly tried to make the complainant’s friend sign the withdrawal of the complaint.

She also alleged that it was traumatising to see her attacker every day on campus and have him tell people what he had done with her. She recalled several instances of harassment and moral policing by college authorities, such as a Wing Commander instructor stating in a class how women officers were smoking and drinking more and this was being noticed by orderlies.

“The defence services should understand that they are not immune to sexual assaults being committed within the services, and they have to be prepared to handle them efficaciously,” said Vidya Reddy, who works on the prevention of sexual assault and child sexual abuse.

As of now, the IAF has declined to comment on the allegations. “We don’t want to offer a comment at this stage since the matter is sub-judice,” said a spokesperson said not wishing to be named.