The Contagious Diseases Acts

Question 1

What were the main ideas around gender roles in the 19th Century?

Answer 1

• Men worked and women remained at home to oversee the work of the servants
• Women were to counterbalance the moral taint of the public sphere for husbands
• Womens education focused around domesticity - music, singing drawing, modern languages to make them cultured and entertaining
• Women remained chaste until marriage
• Women only wanted sex to reproduce after marriage so men used prostitutes to curb sexual need
• Couples could only marry once the man could provide for the women or any prospective children

Question 2

Why did many working class women turn to prostitution?

Answer 2

• To support their families
• It was a sure fire way to make money in a culture where women were prohibited from having sex before marriage as prostitution was seen to help young single or betrothed men satsified

Question 3

Why were the three main reasons the Contagious Diseases Acts were introduced

Answer 3

• Social attitudes to prostitution and gender roles
• The war effort
• Health of the public

Question 4

Why did the war effort in Crimea lead to the introduction of the Contagious Diseases Acts?

Answer 4

• By 1864 venereal disease accounted for 1/3 of sick cases in the army
• Reporting of the Crimean War highlighted the terrible living conditions suffered by soldier
• Despite experiencing and extended period of peace after Crimea, people were aware of a need for a fit army

Question 5

Why did social attitudes lead to the introduction of the Contagious Diseases Acts?

Answer 5

• In 1859 compulsory medical exams of soldier were bonded due to their dislike to intimate examination so prostitutes were now to be examined
• Evangelical Christians condemned the use of prostitutes as they said is ruined the holy union of marriage
• Many men thoughts illicit commercial sex was inevitable and just needed to be regulated/contained

Question 6

Why did the health of the public lead to the introduction of the Contagious Diseases Acts?

Answer 6

• After the war there were annual reports on the health of the army conducted by the government
Welfare increased to ease the difficulties of workers who lost jobs due to sickness

Question 7

What was established in 1862?

Answer 7

A parliamentary committee to investigate how to reduce venereal disease

Question 8

What were the two approaches to the issue of venereal disease?

Answer 8

• Liberal - improved hospital care, penalties for men hiding they had the disease, better barrack sanitation and leisure activities for military men
• Conservative - regulation of prostitutes like in Hong Kong and India with compulsory examination by army doctors

Question 9

Who was associated with the two approaches of venereal disease?

Answer 9

Liberal - John William Acton and Florence Nightingale

Conservative - Sir John Liddell

Question 10

Who was John William Acton?

Answer 10

London surgeon specialising in urinary and genital organs

Question 11

How did John William Acton help the passing of the CDAs?

Answer 11

• His book highlighted both the medical and moral issues that prostitution caused
• Said that charity and moral help had not solved the problem thus there was a need for the medical profession to deal with the disease through examinations
• The book convinced many that there was a need for government intervention to prevent the spread of venereal disease
• Wanted to stop the idea that once a woman became a prostitute the woman was on a road to ruin and could be saved

Question 12

What years were the Contagious Diseases Acts passed?

Answer 12

1864, 1866, 1869

Question 13

What did the initial Contagious Diseases Act say?

Answer 13

• Applied to specifically named naval ports/garrison towns
• Allowed police to arrest prostitutes and order them to undergo internal investigation
• If infected with venereal disease they were detained until cured
• If they refused examination they could be thrown into jail and have a trial to prove their virtue

Question 14

What did the 1866 CDA do?

Answer 14

• Extended the act to mean all known prostitutes were to undergo examination every three months
• Also said that any prostitute within 10 miles of a naval port/garrison town had to under go regular examinations

Question 15

What did the 1869 CDA do?

Answer 15

• Extended the acts laws to all garrison towns

* Allowed suspected prostitutes to be held for up to 5 days before examination

Question 16

What was the long term impacts of the CDAs on the health of prostitutes?

Answer 16

• Elongated the lives of prostitutes as one of the causes of premature deaths was reduced
• Occurrence of scabies was reduced

Question 17

What was the negative impact of treatment on women who had venereal disease?

Answer 17

• Mercury treatment for syphilis was unsafe and useless against the disease
• There was no treatment for syphilis and the treatment merely reduced symptoms
• The speculum used was invasive and many women feared being falsely accused incase they examination gave them the disease/ruined their purity or that of a virgin

Question 18

Why did the acts lead to fear amongst middle and upper class women?

Answer 18

• There was ambiguous wording regarding the acts of ‘common prostitute’
• False accusation would ruin a woman reputation, cases where women who were falsely accused committed suicide such as Mrs Percy in 1875

Question 19

Why did the acts not help prostitutes?

Answer 19

• Social attitudes remained the same and women found it hard to leave the profession
• Women were still blamed for the spread of the disease
• Rescue shelters for women and children often refused to treat any woman who had been in a government hospital for treatment for venereal disease

Question 20

Why did the Ladies’ National Association begin?

Answer 20

• Moral opposition to the Acts seeming to legalise prostitution
• The treatment of women under the acts
• The National Anti- Contagious Disease Act Extension Association did not allow women to join as they believed it would weaken the movement

Question 21

Why did the Ladies’ National Association, Quakers and Unitarian oppose the acts?

Answer 21

Opposed the acts on 8 counts that were
• Passed through parliament in secrecy
• Undermined legal protection provided to both men and women
• Offence of prostitution unclearly defined
• Unfairly punished one sex for the vie of prostitution
• Made the path to evil easier for men
• Examinations were cruel, degrading and brutalised women
• Would increase disease rather than prevent
• Solution to disease was ‘moral’ not ‘physical’

Question 22

Why did Elizabeth Wolstenholme not lead the Ladies’ National Association?

Answer 22

• Seen to be too radical

* Openly opposed marriage and realised the moment would require a more acceptable leader

Question 23

Why was Josephine Butler chosen to be the leader of the Ladies’ National Association?

Answer 23

• She was married to an anglican church minister
• Was a mother but daughter died after falling down the stairs
• Was a moral figure who was known for trying to achieve the salvation of women, specifically prostitutes
• Very charismatic

Question 24

How did Butler’s leadership also limit the influence of the LNA over the Acts repeal?

Answer 24

• She had no first hand experience with prostitutes in Portsmouth and Devonport and other port towns where the acts affect the most women
• A lot of her work could be seen to be indulgent - saw herself as moral crusader and brought picture of her dead daughter to lock hospitals for prostitutes to cry over

Question 25

What were the main factors for the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts?

Answer 25

• Early public agitation
• LNA/ Josephine Butler
• Nationwide repeal groups
• James Stanfeld
• Parliamentary support

Question 26

Why did early agitation help the repeal of the CDAs?

Answer 26

• The showed that the government could bend under pressure form the public e.g. The Great Reform Act, The Second Reform Act in 1867
• Female suffrage groups had began to form around the tome of the second Reform Act
• Did very little initially as third CDA was passed in 1869 but was able to lay foundations for more successful movements

Question 27

How did the LNA help lead to the repeal of the CDAs?

Answer 27

• The petition signed by 124 women initial women was published by the Daily News
• Initial petition got signatures that grew to 2,000
• Created 18,000 national petitions that got 2.5 million signatures
This all helped to raise awareness for the movement and influenced National repeal groups (religious/moral communities)

Question 28

Why were the LNA limited in their work to repeal the acts?

Answer 28

• They were female and thus not taken seriously by Parliament
• Had not representation until James Stanfeld joined the movement
• Josephine Butler and other embers were all middle class white women who had not experience with prostitutes
They helped raise awareness but had little influence/power

Question 29

How did the national grassroots movement help lead to the repeal of the CDAs?

Answer 29

• Sabotage of election campaigns e.g. that of Henry Storks in the 1870 by-election
• In the early 1880s Henry Wilson help to create a political committee of Liberal MPs to push for the repeal of the acts, 1883 the acts were effectively ended with a vote that ended the examination of prostitutes
• Adverts in local papers
• By placing anti- CDA candiates to stand in elections to increase pressure for it in parliament

Question 30

How was the national grassroots movement limited in their work to repeal the acts?

Answer 30

• Often ended splitting the liberal vote and thus let in a conservative who was giants the repeal of the acts
• Like LNA helped raise awareness but had little overall influence on the acts

Question 31

Who was James Stansfeld?

Answer 31

A Liberal MP who was member of Gladstone’s cabinet until their defeat in the 1874 election

Question 32

How did Stansfeld help shape the path to the repeal of the CDAs?

Answer 32

• Helped to reform the LNA to make it more organised and based on pragmatic campaign from a moral one
• Enlisted the help of medical professional to campaign against the acts, establishing the National Medical Association
• Pressure from the National Medical Association lead to the Royal Commission into the inquiry of the acts into the acts effects
• Once re-elected in 1880 and made a member of Gladstone’s cabinet again he struck a deal with Gladstone to get the acts repealed in parliament

Question 33

What issue did Stansfeld make a deal with Gladstone over?

Answer 33

Irish Home Rule: Gladstone needed as much support as possible over Irish Home Rule, Stansfield promised to agree with Gladstone if the repeal of the CDAs was allowed

Question 34

Why was Stansfeld the most important factor in the acts repeal?

Answer 34

• Capitalised on the issue of Irish Home Rule - the act was not a priority (less than 1/2 of MPs new about the acts) but he made it one
• Had political influence and helped the agitaion moment grow to be more effective in lobbying the government

Question 35

When were the CDAs repealed?

Answer 35

1886