Women looking to apply for jobs in education in Sao Paulo, Brazil are now being asked by some employers to provide evidence that they’re ‘healthy’ – by providing either smear test or virginity test results.
The controversial move to provide the invasive and private examination results are being requested by the education department:
‘The health inspections are intended to ensure, beyond technical ability, the physical and mental ability of candidates to keep their jobs for an average of 25 years.’
When questioned how a candidate’s virginity is relevant, the official reasoning was noted as some types of the STD human papilloma virus (HPV) can increase the risk of contracting cervical cancer, and therefore virgins are a safer bet. The education department argue that the intimate medical information provided is necessary to evaluate the candidate’s long-term (25 years) healthy service capability.
Until recently, the education department also required women to have a colposcopy – a type of gynaecological examination used to detect disease – but have since removed this from the application process.
The department also commission other health tests for men and women, including a prostate exam for men over 40 years of age.
Supporting candidates’ privacy, Brazil’s national Special Secretariat for Women’s Rights said:
‘The woman has the right to choose whether to take an exam that will not affect her professional life.’
The move comes a year after the north-eastern state of Bahia in Brazil required female candidates for police jobs to take tests to prove their hymens were not torn.
The government later ruled for such tests to be eliminated.
