Hymen and virginity: What every paediatrician should know

Paediatricians may face the notion of ‘virginity’ in various situations while caring for children and adolescents, but are often poorly prepared to address this sensitive topic. Virginity is a social construct. Despite medical evidence that there is no scientifically reliable way to determine virgin...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of paediatrics and child health 2022-03, Vol.58 (3), p.382-387
Main Authors: Moussaoui, Dehlia, Abdulcadir, Jasmine, Yaron, Michal
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Child
Female
Girls
Humans
hymen
Hymen - surgery
Parents
Pediatricians
Pediatrics
Reproductive health
Sex education
Sexual Abstinence
Sexual Behavior
Teenagers
Vagina
Viewpoint
Viewpoints
Virginity
Well being
Womens health
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Paediatricians may face the notion of ‘virginity’ in various situations while caring for children and adolescents, but are often poorly prepared to address this sensitive topic. Virginity is a social construct. Despite medical evidence that there is no scientifically reliable way to determine virginity, misconceptions about the hymen and its supposed association with sexual history persist and lead to unethical practices like virginity testing, certificate of virginity or hymenoplasty, which can be detrimental to the health and well‐being of females of all ages. The paediatrician has a crucial role in providing evidence‐based information and promoting positive sexual education to children, adolescents and parents. Improving knowledge can help counter misconceptions and reduce harms to girls and women.
ISSN:1034-4810
1440-1754
DOI:10.1111/jpc.15887