Contagious Diseases Acts Flashcards
(39 cards)
Why were the Contagious Diseases Acts introduced?
Concern over the health of the army.
Concern over the health of the public.
Prostitution seen as a social necessity.
‘Reformers’.
What was the 1857 Royal Commission on the Health of the Army?
Found that venereal diseases were higher in servicemen than for non-servicemen.
Recommended that medical checks for venereal diseases to be stopped as they created a loss of respect for troops (frequent checks stopped in 1859).
Also recommended an army statistical department be set up to publish annual reports on the health of the army.
What was the health of the army like by 1860?
37% of army hospital admissions were for venereal diseases.
An average of 105 out of every 1,000 soldiers in hospital were for sexually related diseases.
By 1864, one in every three cases were venereal diseases.
What was the 1862 Committee of Inquiry into venereal disease?
Led by Samuel Whitbread MP.
Suggested more hospital care for men, improved sanitation in barracks, penalties for men who concealed venereal diseases, and more leisure activities.
What was Florence Nightingale’s stance on high venereal rates during Crimean War onwards?
Wanted the army to purify itself morally and find entertainment elsewhere rather than with prostitutes.
How did venereal diseases effect the public?
Syphilis was a big killer of children under 12 months old- passed from mother to child during childbirth.
Up to 20% of child admissions to Royal Free Hospital had syphilis.
London Free Hospital found syphilis was responsible for 12.5-20% of admissions to ear and eye wards.
Why was prostitution seen as a social necessity for men?
Male sexually seen as animalistic and savage.
Men married later in life and virginity was seen as an important asset for women.
What highlighted the need for men to have sex but not women?
1857 Matrimonial Causes Act- men could divorce women on the ground of adultery but women also had to have another reason.
What did John William Acton write?
‘Prostitution’ in 1857.
What did Acton’s book say about dealing with venereal diseases?
Regular medical checks for prostitutes, and state regulations of prostitution.
What were the three dates of the Contagious Diseases Acts?
1864.
1866.
1869.
What did the 1864 Contagious Diseases Act implement?
If found to be diseased, the woman could be detained in a lock hospital until cured.
Police within ports and garrison towns given power to arrest prostitutes for medical examination- any woman who refused could be imprisoned.
What did the 1866 Contagious Diseases Act implement?
Prostitutes to be identified by a single policeman before a magistrate.
Compulsory examination for all prostitutes every three months.
Legislation extended to include all areas within a ten-mile radius of protected ports and garrison towns.
What did the 1869 Contagious Diseases Act implement?
Legislation extended to all garrison towns.
Established 18 protected districts across the UK.
Allowed prostitutes to be held for five days before examination without trial.
Made it legal for prostitutes to be detained in a lock hospital for up to a year and subjected to fortnightly inspections.
Why did Elizabeth Garrett Anderson defend the Contagious Diseases Acts?
Anderson believed voluntary checks could not prevent infections but that the Acts would relieve the physical suffering of prostitutes, who would otherwise not visit hospitals early enough.
How did hospital admissions for syphilis within the army change following the Acts?
37 out of every 1,000 admissions in protected areas, compared to 194 in every 1,000 in unprotected areas.
How did the Acts improve a prostitutes life?
Certificated given out upon release allowed them to collect higher payments.
Many women travelled to protected areas for free medical treatment e.g. Plymouth.
Status of prostitutes were flexible- could be removed from the register once married or in full-time work.
Health and self-esteem of prostitutes improved in lock hospitals.
What reported on the ‘benefits’ of the Acts?
The 1871 Royal Commission.
Why were the Acts not beneficial?
No checks on men.
No effective treatment- no antibiotics.
Police didn’t like implementing the laws- saw as a distraction.
Medical examinations were degrading ‘Instrumental rape’.
Organisations e.g. Society for the Rescue of Women and Children refused to care for those previously in lock hospitals as they opposed the Acts.
There were cases of mistaken identity.
Who was Mrs. Percy?
Mrs. Percy was mistakenly identified as a prostitute and after being in a lock hospital found it hard to find work and so committed suicide in 1875.
How were forced medical examinations under the Acts degrading?
Use of the speculum- Instrumental Rape.
Young woman died with an unbroken hymen during inspection.
For example, in Devonport they were performed in rooms with glass windows and so dock workers could observe.
Why did the Acts radicalise many women?
Growing feeling of injustice amongst women.
Government consisting of only men had passed Acts which blamed women instead of men’s behaviour- calls for female suffrage began.
Which group wanted the Acts further extended?
Harveian Society of London, in 1867 reported for further state intervention.
Led to the formation of the Association for Promoting the Extension of Contagious Diseases Act of 1866 to the Civilian Population.
Why were the Contagious Diseases Acts significant?
Protests against the Acts radicalised women and provided a basis for future movements.
Many women turned towards the woman’s suffrage campaign.
The LNA provided a model of how women could organise themselves into a successful pressure group.
Changed thinking over women’s role in politics.
