Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-wb) -- Two young women who applied for admission to a superior school of Peru's National Police in Iquitos, located in Peru's Amazon rainforest, say they had been put under a virginity tests by doctors, including a rectal test.

According to their statements, published in the local newspaper "Pro y Contra", several young female applicants were not admitted to the school because test results came out "negative".

“This is the first time that happened to me and I have applied twice before. I told my parents and they went to file a complaint with district attorney”, one of the offended women said who requested, for obvious reasons, that her identity is not revealed.

She added they were told by the district attorney's office that an investigation would be launched in the next days.

Her relatives vehemently rejected these test practices by the school's admission board.

The board mainly consists of doctors from the Police' health department with seat in Lima, according to the confirmation of police Chief Julio Coa Mariño, head of the local police in Iquitos.

“This is the first complaint we received from people who were examined by doctors who came from Lima. Obviously doctors made the tests throughout the day. A virginity test is not is not part of the medical test. Whether a female applicant is a virgin or not is irrelevant for admittance to the school", Coa said.

“We cannot say what examinations were performed by the doctors. We have to talk to them first to find out. These medical examinations are the responsibility of the police direction in Lima”, he pointed out.

“However, the relatives have filed an official complaint with the district attorney's office and mentioned the people involved in this case. This is a delicate accusation and I am not going to obstruct the work of the prosecutor. We will wait for his investigative information and forward it to our superior authorities”, chief Coa maintained.