PIP: In many societies, virginity is prized and achieved far more frequently by women than by men. From the early days of the AIDS pandemic, religious bodies have demanded that young people abstain from sex until marriage. The rapid spread of HIV, however, clearly indicates that these calls have gone unheeded. Apparently non-affiliated with mainstream churches and mosques, a grassroots campaign for virginity has been growing in the Durban area, centered around schools and involving virginity testing and the issuance of certificates of virginity. The testing of girls generally involves examination of the vagina by a teacher while the girl lies on the ground. A virginity test for boys involves looking for lines at the back of the knees, inspecting the foreskin (which should be hard), and testing whether boys can urinate over a wire suspended 1 m above the ground. Testing occurs in a public, ceremonial setting, with certificates subsequently awarded to virgins by the All Africa Cultural Organization. While there is unanimous accord in the medical community that it is impossible to test exclusively for virginity, these tests could help reduce the incidence of casual sex among teenagers if they believe the examinations are valid. The tradition of virginity, the teaching of non-penetrative sex practices, and the responsibilities of churches are briefly discussed. These virginity tests should be taken seriously until they can be made more effective, and the teachers involved could be co-opted into local AIDS organizations.