depth 3: LNA 1862-86 Flashcards
(49 cards)
“proper name” for sexually transmitted diseases
venereal diseases
why were brothels around army bases seen as a “necessary evil”
The British Army did not allow non-commissioned soldiers to be married and homosexual acts were illegal.
These brothels lead to a large number of VDs
evidence that supporters of the acts used to defend the view that moral improvement could be achieved through legislation
Florence Nightingale’s actions in the Crimea, the Factory acts, Municiple Corporations Act, and the 1848 public health act all improved quality of life for those effected
When was a committee first established to investigate the problem of VD’s in the British Armed forces
1862
the 1862 parliamentary committee
Debates regarding what to do were kept quiet due to fear of public reaction
liberal solution concluded from 1862 Parliamentary Committee
- improved hospital care for diseased men & women
- penalties for men who hid evidence of having a VD
- better barrack sanitation
- more leisure activities to entertain military men and stop them seeking prostitutes
conservative solution concluded from 1862 parliamentary committee
This was the one chosen
- Recommended by Sir John Liddell
- greater regulation of prostitutes (like the military model used in Hong Kong and India where prostitutes have to be registered)
- compulsory medical examination of prostitutes by British army doctors
when was each Contagious Diseases Act
1864
1866
1869
Contagious Diseases Act 1864
- covered 11 military stations + 5 mile radius
- allowed (plain clothes) police officers to arrest any woman suspected of being a prostitute
- arrested women subject to compulsory medical examinations
- could be held in lock hospital for 3 months if found infected
Contagious Diseases Act 1866
- made periodical medical examinations compulsory for all prostitutes in the areas
- women given a certificate of clean health after exam (if clean)
Contagious Diseases Act 1969
- covered 18 military stations + 15 mile radius
- women could be held in lock hospital for 9 months
why did the laws primarily affect working-class women (social issues with laws)
majority of prostitutes only work occasionally/seasonally
(made identifying prostitutes difficult)
Women over 20 made up over 60% of garrison towns (usually low 50’s) –> many unsupported women
why was there an increasing number of women turning to prostitution in mining towns?
1867 financial collapse of copper and mining industry
Left many women unsupported
woman who killed herself after being accused of being a prostitute
Mrs Percy Professional singer (blacklisted from music halls) --> drowned herself 1875
difference between normal criminal cases and those of women who were accused of prostitution and wanted to prove innocence
normal: innocent until proven guilty
prostitutes: women had to prove innocence
punishment for refusing the compulsory medical examinations
fine or prison sentence
quote from London lock hospital surgeon that shows the victorian attitude towards who was to blame
1882
He claimed that all patients were their as a “direct result of their own vicious indulgence”
dangerous treatment for VD’s
toxic mercury
Relieved symptoms but not a cure
side effects: mouth ulcers, loss of teeth, kidney failure, or fatal poisoning
evidence that Contagious Diseases Act did not work (reason for opposition)
MP James Stansfeld presented evidence to parliament that number of VDs had not decreased
Army Medical Report 1880 showed cases actually increased from 1879.
evidence that the army and navy were being used to impose order on civilians (reason for opposition)
1866 doctors of Harveian Medical Society called for the law to cover northern working-class industrial towns. 1869 act then included civilian docks of Southhampton
evidence laws made the problems worse (reason for opposition)
Dr Charles Routh and Professor Henry Lee presented evidence to parliament that the law made matters worse because men felt they were safe as prostitutes were being checked –> more disease
evidence that the laws only focused on women (reason for opposition)
it lacked powers to investigate or test men that visited prostitutes and were spreading the disease
vagueness of laws (reason for opposition)
No legal definition of prostitute meant many working class women would be forced to submit to tests by male doctors for no good reason
laws were anti democratic (reason for opposition)
broke habeas corpus
Women in court had to prove innocence rather than the other way round
laws seen as immoral (reason for opposition)
- some saw acts as legalising prostitution: 1870 MP complained that law made prostitution a “legalised institution - a woman is made the chattel for the use of men”
- some concerned laws would lead to increased brutality and a desire for younger girls (as seen in India)
- Christians concerned laws set moral double standards, making premarital sex only a sin for women
