Unit 5: How did the Contagious Diseases Acts affect women? Flashcards
How did the Contagious Diseases Acts affect prostitutes?
Primarily affected working class women who mostly used prostitution as a temporary mean of making money when there was insufficient work available- this made identifying prostitutes difficult.
This was especially the case in a military garrison due to the number of men in barracks- left more unsupported women that resorted to prostitution.
Widespread prostitution lead to the police assuming that women living in poorer areas were prostitutes so then would often be stopped on suspicion of prostitution purely because of where they lived eg professional singer Mrs Percy accusation of prostitution led to her being blacklisted at music halls so she committed suicide in 1875.
Since working class women were illiterate and had no idea of their legal rights, they could not defend themselves.
What happened to women under the Contagious Diseases Acts?
Identified prostitutes were listed on a register and required to take a fortnightly examination for venereal diseases- refusal would result in a charge where they would then need to prove their innocence, fine or prison sentence.
Clean women would be given a card with the surgeon’s signature verifying that they were free of disease.
Infected women were imprisoned in lock hospitals for up to 9 months where they were treated using mercury (toxic) which caused ulcers, kidney failure and fatal poisoning- it relieved symptoms but did not cure.
What were the strengths of regulated prostitution?
1871 Royal Commission appointed to investigate the effects of the Acts and found it improved conditions for prostitutes in protected areas.
Encouraged infected women to seek medical treatment.
Certificates for disease free women became valuable assets as it was used to secure increased payments.
The Acts preserved the health of women which meant prostitutes could work longer.
The Acts reduced the occurance of scabies.
The Acts became flexible as prostitutes that became married or entered full time mployment would be removed from registers.
It reduced hospital admissions for syphilis within the army- in protected areas 37/1000 soldiers were hospitalised, unprotected areas 194/1000 soldiers.
Civil authorities became increasingly active in promoting the extension of the CDA- the Association of Promoting the CDA of 1866 was formed and campaigned through medical press such as the Lancet.
What were the limitations of regulated prostitutes?
1871 Royal Commission only interviewed certain types of witnesses so most evidence collected came from Anglican ministers and doctors without consulting prostitutes- the government felt that they were not respectable to consult, thus it is hard to determine the extent of the Acts.
The Acts made it harder for women to leave prostitution because of their limited access to reform institutes such as Society for the Rescue of Women and Children- refused to care for women in goverment hospitals because they opposed the Acts.
There were no checks on men within the armed forces so venereal diseases could not be fully eradicated.
The lack of medical knowledge limited effective treatment.
Police needed no proof a woman was a prostitute- ruined reputations.
Describe the medical examinations.
Controversial- used the speculum which allowed internal observation.
Examinations were degrading and often performed in transparent rooms to be observed by dock workers.
The internal exposure offended female propriety.
Sometimes caused cross contamination.
Describe the double standard of the Acts.
The Act appeared to legalise prostitution by accepting it cannot be eradicated due to male sexual desire.
Yet, the Acts forced medical examinations on women therefore blaming them for the problems prostitutions created.
