Health of the armed forces; prostitution in victorian society and their effects
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What was the body caled which investigated the health of the armed forces after the Crimean War?
1862 Committee
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How many hospital admissions for the armed forces were for venereal disease?
37%
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What recommendations did the 1862 committee make?
Lock hospitals, soldier inspections
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Did the gov. take the advice of the 1862 committee?
Nope
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How was prostitution seen in victorian society?
A necessary social ill to satisfy 'animalistic' male sexual desires
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How many child admissions to hospitals were due to hereditory syphilis?
20%
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Highest estimate of amount of prostitues in UK?
500,000
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Who was John Acton and what was his role in bringing about CDAs?
Surgeon, wrote book convincing people that gov. intervention was needed to reduce levels of venereal disease (through checks on prostitutes)
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What did the CDAs actually have in them?
By 1869, all prostitutes had to have examinations every 3 months; if diseased, in Lock Hospitals until cured (exams every fortnight)
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What impact did the CDAs have on women?
Regulated prostitution- decrease in infections; embarrasment of speculum; double standards on sexual issues
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Describe the impacts of regulated prostitution...
Health improved for women and armed forces (34 of 1000 soldiers had syphilis compared to 194 in non-protected districts); health checks compulsory every 3 months; certificate if clear; sex workers became outcasts
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Describe the impacts of the speculum?
Great source of embarrasment, invasive and degrading; women who werent prostitues or virgins was deemed instrumental ****; cross-contamination
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What double standards were apparent with the CDA's?
Effectively legalised prostitution; showed power of male state over women; placed blame of disease on women (even though accepted that it was a male caused proffesion)
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What did the CDAs expose?
How women were largely treated as second-class citizens
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What was the name of the organisation that campaigned for the repeal of the CDAs and who led it?
Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts (LNA)- Josephine Butler
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Who invited Butler to lead the LNA?
Elizabeth Wolstenholme
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What qualities did Butler have which meant she was good at leading the campaign?
V. moral- devout christian and wife; hard to discredit her and was v. charasmatic "spirit of God was with her"
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What did Butler do well with regards to the LNA?
Added direction and charisma as well as being v. persuasive
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What negatives of Butler's leadership were there?
She gave some testimonies based on hearsay (she hadn't experienced first-hand); by 1881 hadnt been to prot. district since 1873 (disconnection with her and prostitutes)
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Overall was her influence positive or negative?
Overall positive: strong character who added direction to the LNA as well as being v. charasmatic and hard to discredit
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Who was the other main player in the campaign for the repeal of the CDAs?
James Stansfeld (and Henry J. Wilson)
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What was James Stansfeld responsible for?
Organising the LNA into an effective pressure group; applying pressure in parliament and on Gladstone to repeal the CDAs;
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What tactics did the LNA employ to try to campaign for the repeal of the CDAs?
Interfering in elections; co-operation with prostitutes; women who were wrongly accused;
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How did election inteference help repeal the CDAs?
Could target Liberal MPs and persuade them into supporting repeal (or they could lose their supporters)
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Give an example of an MP who withdrew his candidacy as the LNA campaigned for him to?
Henry Storks (Newark)
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What limitations were there of election inteference?
Could split the Liberal vote and conservative elected (like seen in 1874 election conservative majority); they couldnt influence Tory MPs
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How did drawing attention to mistaken prostitute identity be a tactic?
Fuelled public fear that the CDAs risked removing dignity of innocent women
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Example of woman used by LNA and what was her story?
Mrs Percy: Drowned herself after being mistaken for a prostitute
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How did cooperation with prostitutes be used as a tactic?
Meant prostitutes resisted the legal requirments of the CDAs- showed opposition
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What was the main example of LNA cooperation with prostitutes?
'Siege of Devonport'
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Was cooperation with prostitutes effective?
No: 'Siege of Devonport' ran out of steam by 1872 and the LNA failed to connect to working-class women and people in protected districts
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Overall, who was most influential in the repeal of the CDAs and why?
..............
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What did the LNAs campaign and the repeal signify?
Radicalised women for the first time and showed how they could influence parliament- provided base for furture radical women's movements
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What did the CDAs embody?
Sexual injustice allowed by a system which excluded women totally
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How would you describe the CDAs campaign and the reason for their repeal?
Against medical opinion, LNA deployed a moral argument which the government found hard to counter
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Other cards in this set
Card 2
Front
Why were the CDAs introduced?
Back
Health of the armed forces; prostitution in victorian society and their effects
Card 3
Front
What was the body caled which investigated the health of the armed forces after the Crimean War?
Back
Card 4
Front
How many hospital admissions for the armed forces were for venereal disease?
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