why was prostitution rife in the 19th century?
- most w/c women received little/no education
- were limited to temporary and poorly paid jobs
- prostitution was the only alternative tot he work house
-soldiers could not marry or be gay
what did the middle classes think about prostitution?
- moral threat to society
- threatened the sanctity of the family unit
In what was was prostitution deemed acceptable?
- ‘necessary evil’ to satisfy the male sexual desire that their wives couldn’t necessarily
- especially acceptable in military bases and ports, where they were far from their wives, or didn’t have any
What example could be used to claim that double standards were rife in 19th century Britain?
Matrimonial causes act 1857
–> man could divorce woman on grounds of adultery but she could not do the same
Why is the Crimean war relevant?
(1854-56)
- A royal commission on the health of the army was introduced as a result of the war
- the royal commission then set up a committee of inquiry (after identifying VD to be an issue)
what did the statistical department reveal about the health of the army?
-in 1860, 37% of army hospital diseases were for venereal diseases
when was the committee of inquiry founded?
1862
included Florence Nightingale…
… and Sir John Liddell
What did Florence Nightingale and other liberals advocate for the 1862 committee?
- for the army to end its reliance on prostitution (introduce leisure activities instead)
- penalties for men who concealed that they had VD
What did Sir John Liddell advocate for the 1862 committee?
-the government should regulate prostitutes for soldiers with frequent checks i.e. compulsory medical examinations
what was introduced for the first time in 1858?
- a lock hospital in portsmouth (a hospital with a ward specialist in VD where prostitutes could visit voluntarily for treatment)
Who was sir William Acton?
- surgeon with medical knowledge on VD
- wrote a book called ‘prostitution’, stating that gov intervention and new medical technology could help VD, wanting prostitutes to be medically examined but for THEIR BENEFIT
what were the details of the 1964 CDA?
- implemented in garrison towns and ports
- allowed Police to arrest women on suspicion of them being prostitutes and forcibly examine them
How did the 1966 act extend the CDA?
-women could be detained for up to 3 months in a lock hospital
why was the act passed by parliament?
- ignorance of MPs
- a similar sounding bill had just been passed (Contagious diseases bill) to control foot and mouth disease in cattle
how could the first CDA be said to have made the spread of VD worse?
- some women would just move further afield in unregulated areas to avoid being arrested
- -> spread disease further
what changed to the terms of the CDA in 1966 and 1969?
- more military towns had coverage
- women could be kept for up to year
- fortnightly inspections of all known prostitutes were compulsory
what stimulated the start to the repeal campaign?
- plans to extend the system of regulation to the towns and cities of the north
- the repeal campaign began during the reformist period (same time as 1867 reform act)
What was established in 1869 as part of the repeal movement?
- National Assoscation for the repeal of the CDA
- had no real impact
- LNA founded in same year, and had a much larger imoact
Who was responsible for starting the campaign for the repeal of the CDA?
- Elizabeth Wolstenholme
- arguably too radical e.g. views on marriage
- would’ve tarnished the movement
Why was Butler better suited to lead the movement?
- woman of undoubted morality e.g. a devout christian
- sought to help those with greater grief than her own, after the death of her daughter
- reformist family who had campaigned against slavery
What was the first move of the LNA?
-Daily News published a protest against the acts signed by 124 women
What did Josephine Butler do which shows her dedication to the campaign?
-traveled 3,700 miles and addressed 99 meetings in a year
How did the LNA campaign for repeal?
- wanted to put pressure on the liberals by interfering with elections of anti-repeal candidates
- -> weakened the liberal party by accident e.g. By-election in colchester, conservative candidate got seat instead
- -> in 1874 the Tories won an overall majority
name a criticism levelled at Butler’s leadership?
-an 1881 committee revealed that she had not been to a protected area since 1873
