Although condemned by WHO as a violation of human rights, virginity testing is still officially performed in Romania in medical forensic units. For a small fee, the exam can still be performed at the request of parents who want to test their daughters. These tests, carried out by the National Medical Forensic Institute, account for almost 1.000 tests annually.

According to WHO, virginity is a social construct that reflects gender discrimination. Virginity testing is based upon hymen examination, which is less than 10% medically accurate, rendering the test useless and traumatizing.

Our main objective was to increase awareness on this issue and to mobilize the public in order to gather as much support as possible. We wanted to turn the tide of public opinion so fiercely in our favor that lawmakers and politicians would be left with no other choice but to change the law.

As high-schoolers across Romania prepared to begin the Baccalaureate exam, a national evaluation that began on Monday, 6th June, we thought of raising awareness on the existence of another abusive exam that some teenagers still have to pass nowadays: the virginity exam, also called the “two-finger” test.

So we launched #UnExaminable, a campaign focused on an emotional video, which draws a parallel between the baccalaureate exam and virginity exams, in order to outlaw them.

The tearjerker video captures our protagonist’s anxious thoughts before what we think it’s a school exam, but the whole build-up leads to the reveal that the hardest exam for her is the virginity exam. The video urges people to sign a petition aimed at removing these tests from the legislation.

Our main target was the general audience of people who either had little knowledge about this abusive exam or who never heard of it before. We wanted to appeal to them through our campaign and to ignite action by inviting them to sign our anti-virginity testing petition.

An equally important secondary target were the lobby makers, the lawmakers and the press, whom we wanted to take a stand and condemn these tests as being illegal and absurd. We wanted to expose them to the hurtful reality that can be caused by virginity testing and how the girls who are being tested end up baring psychological issues.

A more niched lateral target were the girls who were abusively tested by their parents. Through social channels we encouraged them to speak up about their traumatizing experiences and even get help by our therapists available in the VIF Network.

#UnExaminable is focused on an emotional video, which draws a parallel between the baccalaureate exam and virginity exams, in order to outlaw them. The video urges people to sign a petition aimed at removing these tests from the legislation.

The video appeared on all the 3 major NGOs that are part of the VIF Network’s social media channels and also got shared and reposted by influencers. Snippets of the video got streamed on all major TV channels on primetime news and on radio.

After the petition gathered over 43k signatures, a gathering of supporters took place in front of the Government to protest these tests. The campaign also got picked up in pop-culture contexts such as generating a whole debate on Reddit, getting a satiric nod in Times New Roman (Romania’s equivalent of The Onion) and an illustrator even draw an unofficial poster for the movie.

In the first day alone, all major media outlets picked up the story and featured articles on the subject. #UnExaminable was featured on all important Romanian TV channels: Prima TV, PRO TV, EuroNews, B1, Antena3, Antena1 and DIGI TV.

The media exposure was free and we reached a total audience of almost 18 million viewers.

The petition gathered over 20.000 signatures in the first two days alone and after one week increased to 45.000 with almost no paid promo. Over 35 Romanian influencers joined the cause and shared our petition. Most importantly, just 5 days after the launch, the largest medical unit, the Mina Minovici Institute of Legal Medicine (INML) no longer issues virginity certificates on request. The decision was taken after civil society reacted to our campaign and raised the alarm about these tests. The Minister of Family supported this decision and encouraged other medical units to follow through.