Contagious Diseases Acts
Encyclopedia
The Contagious Diseases Acts were originally passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom
in 1864, with further alterations and editions made to it in 1866 and 1869. In 1862, a committee was established to inquire into venereal disease in the armed forces; on its recommendation the first Contagious Diseases Act was passed. The legislation allowed police officers to arrest prostitutes in certain ports and army towns, and the women were then subjected to compulsory checks for venereal disease. If a woman was declared to be infected, she would be confined in what was known as a ‘Lock Hospital’ until ‘cured’. The original act was only lawful in a few selected naval ports and army towns, but by 1869 the acts had been extended to be in operation in eighteen ‘subjected districts’
The Act of 1864 stated that women found to be infected could be interned in locked hospitals for up to three months, a period gradually extended to one year with the 1869 Act. These measures were justified by medical and military officials as the most effective method to shield men from venereal disease. As military men were discouraged from marriage and homosexual behaviour was criminal, prostitution was considered a necessary evil. However, no provision was made for the examination of prostitutes' clientèle, which became one of the many points of contention in a campaign to repeal the Acts.
After 1866, proposals were introduced to extend the acts to the north of England and to the civilian population. It was suggested that this extension would regulate prostitution and stop street disorders caused by it in large cities.
The issue of the Contagious Diseases Act and venereal disease created significant controversy within Victorian Society. Known as the ‘Social Disease’, the acts themselves affected thousands of people's lives, from campaigners to prostitutes themselves. It exploded the debate over the double standards between men and women. It was one of the first political issues that led to women organizing themselves and actively campaigning for their rights.
The acts demonstrated the degree of double standards between men and women in Victorian society. Men were responsible for the demand for prostitutes, yet only women had to endure humiliating personal medical examinations and be contained in locked hospitals if found to be infected; women's reputations were threatened but not men's. The double standards of men were a key part in Josephine Butler
's campaigns for the repeal of the acts. In one of her public letters, she allowed a prostitute to deliver her own account of her personal encounters with men:
was high in Victorian England. The acts themselves would have affected a large proportion of the female workforce in Britain. For several reasons prostitution was predominantly a working class profession. For many working class women their journey into prostitution was one of circumstance. During the nineteenth century the public began to concern itself with particular social problems, an increasing view of the "ideal woman" was beginning to emerge and the "angel of the home" was becoming a popular stereotype
. This rise of the middle class domestic morality made it increasingly harder for women to obtain work in certain professions, causing an increase in such areas as needle-trades, shop girls, agricultural gangs, factory work, and domestic servants, all occupations with long hours and little pay. Low earnings, it is argued, meant that women had to resort to prostitution to be able to provide for themselves and their families, particularly in households where the main breadwinner was no longer around. In fact, a study from the late – Victorian
period showed that most remained prostitutes; over 50% of these women had either been servants or working in dead end jobs such as laundering, charing, and street selling. Prostitution is also an unskilled occupation; a woman does not need to go through any sort of training or apprenticeship.
The nature of the occupation makes it difficult to establish the exact amount of prostitutes in operation during the Victorian Period. Judicial reports of the years 1857 to 1869 show that prostitutes were more common in commercial ports and pleasure resorts and less so in hardware towns, cotton and linen manufacturing centres and woollen and worsted centres. The Westminster Review placed the figure between 50,000 and 368,000. This would make prostitution the fourth largest female occupation. However, the police estimates of known prostitutes portray an entirely different estimate:
Police estimates of known prostitutes
However, this table relates only prostitutes known to the police. The unreliability of statistics during the nineteenth century prevents one form knowng if prostitution was increasing or decreasing during this period, but it is clear that Victorians during the 1840s and 1850s thought that prostitution and venereal disease were increasing .
Regulating prostitution was the government's attempt to control the high level of venereal disease in its armed forces. By 1864, one out of three sick cases in the army were caused by venereal disease; admissions into hospitals for gonorrhoea and syphilis reached 290.7 per 1,000 of total troop strength.
Prostitutes found work within the armed forces, mainly due to servicemen's forced celibacy and the conditions of the barracks the men were forced to endure. The barracks were overcrowded and had a lack of ventilation and defective sanitation. Very few servicemen were permitted to marry, and even those were not given an allowance to support their wives, which often forced them to become prostitutes as well.
was. The Association for the Extension of the Contagious Diseases Acts strongly campaigned for the extension of the Contagious Diseases Acts to be extended outside of the naval and army barracks and be made effective to the whole of the country, as they believed this was the best way of regulating prostitution.
There was much action taken towards the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts. In 1869, the National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts was established; initially restricting women from its meetings, causing the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts
to be quickly established by Josephine Butler
. These repeal organizations attracted the vigorous support of not only moralists and feminists but also those concerned with civil liberties, especially since the Acts were perceived as having violated basic human rights.
Both groups actively campaigned against the acts and between 1870 and 1885, 17,365 petitions against the acts bearing 2,606,429 signatures were presented to the House of Commons, and during the same period, more than 900 meetings were held.
The repealists struck a chord with the public consensus on the issues surrounding prostitution and they highlighted the issue of double standards. It was the men and women of the National Association and the Ladies National Association who won the battle over the Contagious Diseases Acts, and, in 1886, the Acts were repealed.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
in 1864, with further alterations and editions made to it in 1866 and 1869. In 1862, a committee was established to inquire into venereal disease in the armed forces; on its recommendation the first Contagious Diseases Act was passed. The legislation allowed police officers to arrest prostitutes in certain ports and army towns, and the women were then subjected to compulsory checks for venereal disease. If a woman was declared to be infected, she would be confined in what was known as a ‘Lock Hospital’ until ‘cured’. The original act was only lawful in a few selected naval ports and army towns, but by 1869 the acts had been extended to be in operation in eighteen ‘subjected districts’
The Act of 1864 stated that women found to be infected could be interned in locked hospitals for up to three months, a period gradually extended to one year with the 1869 Act. These measures were justified by medical and military officials as the most effective method to shield men from venereal disease. As military men were discouraged from marriage and homosexual behaviour was criminal, prostitution was considered a necessary evil. However, no provision was made for the examination of prostitutes' clientèle, which became one of the many points of contention in a campaign to repeal the Acts.
After 1866, proposals were introduced to extend the acts to the north of England and to the civilian population. It was suggested that this extension would regulate prostitution and stop street disorders caused by it in large cities.
The issue of the Contagious Diseases Act and venereal disease created significant controversy within Victorian Society. Known as the ‘Social Disease’, the acts themselves affected thousands of people's lives, from campaigners to prostitutes themselves. It exploded the debate over the double standards between men and women. It was one of the first political issues that led to women organizing themselves and actively campaigning for their rights.
The acts demonstrated the degree of double standards between men and women in Victorian society. Men were responsible for the demand for prostitutes, yet only women had to endure humiliating personal medical examinations and be contained in locked hospitals if found to be infected; women's reputations were threatened but not men's. The double standards of men were a key part in Josephine Butler
Josephine Butler
Josephine Elizabeth Butler was a Victorian era British feminist who was especially concerned with the welfare of prostitutes...
's campaigns for the repeal of the acts. In one of her public letters, she allowed a prostitute to deliver her own account of her personal encounters with men:
“It is men, only men, from the first to the last that we have to do with! To please a man I did wrong at first, then I was flung about from man to man. Men police lay hands on us. By men we are examined, handled, doctored. In the hospital it is a man again who makes prayer and reads the Bible for us. We are had up before magistrates who are men, and we never get out of the hands of men till we die!”
Background of prostitution in Victorian England
The level of prostitutionProstitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
was high in Victorian England. The acts themselves would have affected a large proportion of the female workforce in Britain. For several reasons prostitution was predominantly a working class profession. For many working class women their journey into prostitution was one of circumstance. During the nineteenth century the public began to concern itself with particular social problems, an increasing view of the "ideal woman" was beginning to emerge and the "angel of the home" was becoming a popular stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
. This rise of the middle class domestic morality made it increasingly harder for women to obtain work in certain professions, causing an increase in such areas as needle-trades, shop girls, agricultural gangs, factory work, and domestic servants, all occupations with long hours and little pay. Low earnings, it is argued, meant that women had to resort to prostitution to be able to provide for themselves and their families, particularly in households where the main breadwinner was no longer around. In fact, a study from the late – Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
period showed that most remained prostitutes; over 50% of these women had either been servants or working in dead end jobs such as laundering, charing, and street selling. Prostitution is also an unskilled occupation; a woman does not need to go through any sort of training or apprenticeship.
The nature of the occupation makes it difficult to establish the exact amount of prostitutes in operation during the Victorian Period. Judicial reports of the years 1857 to 1869 show that prostitutes were more common in commercial ports and pleasure resorts and less so in hardware towns, cotton and linen manufacturing centres and woollen and worsted centres. The Westminster Review placed the figure between 50,000 and 368,000. This would make prostitution the fourth largest female occupation. However, the police estimates of known prostitutes portray an entirely different estimate:
Police estimates of known prostitutes
| Date | London | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|
| 1839 | 6,371 | - |
| 1841 | 9,404 | - |
| 1856 | 8,600 | - |
| 1858 | 7,194 | 27,113 |
| 1859 | 6,649 | 28,743 |
| 1861 | 7,124 | 29,572 |
| 1862 | 5,795 | 28,449 |
| 1863 | 5,581 | 27,411 |
| 1864 | 5,689 | 26,802 |
| 1865 | 5,911 | 26,213 |
| 1866 | 5,544 | 24,717 |
| 1867 | 5,628 | 24,999 |
| 1888 | 5,678 | 24,311 |
However, this table relates only prostitutes known to the police. The unreliability of statistics during the nineteenth century prevents one form knowng if prostitution was increasing or decreasing during this period, but it is clear that Victorians during the 1840s and 1850s thought that prostitution and venereal disease were increasing .
Regulating prostitution was the government's attempt to control the high level of venereal disease in its armed forces. By 1864, one out of three sick cases in the army were caused by venereal disease; admissions into hospitals for gonorrhoea and syphilis reached 290.7 per 1,000 of total troop strength.
Prostitutes found work within the armed forces, mainly due to servicemen's forced celibacy and the conditions of the barracks the men were forced to endure. The barracks were overcrowded and had a lack of ventilation and defective sanitation. Very few servicemen were permitted to marry, and even those were not given an allowance to support their wives, which often forced them to become prostitutes as well.
Extension and repeal
In 1866, the Association for the Extension of the Contagious Diseases Acts was established and was just as prominent in the publishing of pamphlets and articles as the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases ActsLadies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts
The Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts was established in 1869 by Elizabeth Wolstenholme and Josephine Butler in response to the Contagious Diseases Acts that were passed by UK Parliament in 1864...
was. The Association for the Extension of the Contagious Diseases Acts strongly campaigned for the extension of the Contagious Diseases Acts to be extended outside of the naval and army barracks and be made effective to the whole of the country, as they believed this was the best way of regulating prostitution.
There was much action taken towards the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts. In 1869, the National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts was established; initially restricting women from its meetings, causing the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts
Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts
The Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts was established in 1869 by Elizabeth Wolstenholme and Josephine Butler in response to the Contagious Diseases Acts that were passed by UK Parliament in 1864...
to be quickly established by Josephine Butler
Josephine Butler
Josephine Elizabeth Butler was a Victorian era British feminist who was especially concerned with the welfare of prostitutes...
. These repeal organizations attracted the vigorous support of not only moralists and feminists but also those concerned with civil liberties, especially since the Acts were perceived as having violated basic human rights.
Both groups actively campaigned against the acts and between 1870 and 1885, 17,365 petitions against the acts bearing 2,606,429 signatures were presented to the House of Commons, and during the same period, more than 900 meetings were held.
The repealists struck a chord with the public consensus on the issues surrounding prostitution and they highlighted the issue of double standards. It was the men and women of the National Association and the Ladies National Association who won the battle over the Contagious Diseases Acts, and, in 1886, the Acts were repealed.
Conditions in Lock hospitals
If a woman was declared diseased she would be confined in what were known as Lock hospitals. The Lock hospitals or Lock wards were designed specifically to treat those infected with a venereal disease. Conditions in Lock Hospitals were inadequate. An 1882 survey estimated that there were only 402 beds for female patients in all the voluntary lock hospitals in Great Britain, and out of this number only 232 were "funded for use". Female venereal patients generally had to resort to workhouse infirmaries.Further reading
- J. Walkowitz, ‘Prostitution and Victorian Society’
- J. Walkowitz, ‘City of Dreadful Delight’
- E.M Sigworth and T.J Wyke ‘A study of Victorian Prostitution and Venereal Disease’ in M. Vicinus’ ‘Suffer and Be Still’.
- P. Levine ‘Victorian Feminism’ Chapter 6
- The Contagious Diseases Acts in Murray, J. Strong-Minded Women, 424-37 and Fisher, Trevor.
- Prostitution and The Victorians. 80-94. Jane Jordan
- The Contagious Diseases Acts Reconsidered F.B. Smith. Social History of Medicine 1990 3(2) pp. 197-215.
- Chapter 5: Syphilis between prostitution and promiscuity in Peter Baldwin. Contagion in the state of Europe, 1830-1930 (Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999)
- Chapter 7: VD & Society in Britain, From CDA to NHS Lesley A. Hall. in Sex, Sin and Suffering: Venereal Disease and European Society since 1870 Roger Davidson and Lesley A. Hall eds. (London & New York: Routledge, 2001)
- The Origins, Administration, and Impact of the Contagious Diseases Acts from a Military Perspective John Gill Gamble. (Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1986)
See also
- Elizabeth Garrett AndersonElizabeth Garrett AndersonElizabeth Garrett Anderson, LSA, MD , was an English physician and feminist, the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Britain and the first female mayor in England.-Early life:...
- Josephine ButlerJosephine ButlerJosephine Elizabeth Butler was a Victorian era British feminist who was especially concerned with the welfare of prostitutes...
- Millicent FawcettMillicent FawcettDame Millicent Garrett Fawcett, GBE was an English suffragist and an early feminist....
- Hugh Price HughesHugh Price HughesHugh Price Hughes , was a Welsh Christian theologian in the Methodist tradition. He was the founder of the Methodist Times and the first superintendent of the West London Methodist Mission, a key Methodist organisation today...
- John Stuart MillJohn Stuart MillJohn Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
- History of feminismHistory of feminismThe history of feminism involves the story of feminist movements and of feminist thinkers. Depending on time, culture and country, feminists around the world have sometimes had different causes and goals...