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Hymenoplasty To Be Outlawed In England Under New Government Plans

Ali Condon

Published 
| Last updated 

Hymenoplasty To Be Outlawed In England Under New Government Plans

Featured Image Credit: Pexels

The invasive procedure known as hymenoplasty will be outlawed in the England "at the earliest opportunity" under new government plans.

These move is outlined in a new report, called the Vision for Women's Health, which gathered some stark and shocking insights into the gender health gap.

The government will also appoint a Women's Health Ambassador who will be specifically tasked with raising women's health issues, increasing awareness, and advising the government to amending these issues.

(Credit: Pexels)
(Credit: Pexels)
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After collecting information from almost 100,000 responses, it was discovered that more than 80 per cent of women felt that they were not listened to by healthcare professionals.

Almost two thirds of respondents with a health condition or disability said that they did not feel supported by the services available to them.

A majority of respondents confessed that they felt services for conditions that only affect women were treated as lower priority compared to other services.

 80% of women felt that they were not listened to by healthcare professionals.(Credit: Shutterstock)
80% of women felt that they were not listened to by healthcare professionals.(Credit: Shutterstock)
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It was also discovered that damaging taboos and stigmas in women’s health were preventing women from seeking help and reinforce beliefs that debilitating symptoms were "normal".

Commenting on the research, Minister for Women's Health Maria Caulfield noted that some of the findings were "shocking."

While details of the government's official Women's Health Strategy will be released in Spring 2022, one immediate action being taken to protect women and girls' health is the ban of hymenoplasty.

Hymenoplasty is a procedure that involves reconstructing the skin membrane, known as the hymen, located in the vagina.

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Damaging taboos and stigmas in women’s health were preventing women from seeking help. (Credit: Shutterstock)
Damaging taboos and stigmas in women’s health were preventing women from seeking help. (Credit: Shutterstock)

In some cultures and religions, an in-tact hymen is a symbol of virginity, but the skin membrane can also tear via non-sexual causes, such as using tampons or playing certain sports like gymnastics or horse-riding.

The move to ban hymenoplasty follows the recommendation from an independent expert panel who have claimed it stems from the same repressive attitudes towards a woman's sexuality and the concept of virginity.

The procedure can typically last up to an hour and involves reconstructing the original torn hymen tissue with dissolvable stitching.

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After having hymenoplasty, the new hymen will bleed when torn.

Before the official call to ban the "virginity repair" procedure this week, there were at least 20 private clinics in the UK that offered the surgery, and could charge up to £3,000 for it.

There are a number of risks involved in the procedure, including:

  • infection
  • sexual difficulties
  • scarring and narrowing of the opening of the vagina
  • depression
  • anxiety
  • post-traumatic stress disorder
  • reduced or no libido
  • acute bleeding
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More generally, the availability of hymenoplasty reinforces damaging attitudes that place many women at risk.

These include:

  • the belief that all women who are virgins will bleed on their first sexual intercourse.
  • the belief that, if a woman does not bleed on her wedding night, she brings shame on her family.
  • the belief that virginity is a "sexual status".
  • the belief that women who are not virgins are shameful.

Topics: Health, News

Ali Condon
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