Ladies National Association For The Repeal of The Contagious Diseases Acts - Repeal of The Contagious Diseases Acts

Repeal of The Contagious Diseases Acts

The Contagious Diseases Act was a piece of legislation passed by UK Parliament in 1864. It caused demand not only for extension of the acts to the rest of the country, but also for the repeal of the acts. LNA defended prostitutes, saying that they were the victims of social injustice, not criminal miscreants.

On 1 January 1870 the LNA published an article named ‘Women’s Protest’ in the ‘Daily News;’ this article gave a detailed explanation of what exactly the Ladies National Association felt was unjust and unlawful about these acts

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“2nd – because as far as women are concerned, they remove every guarantee of personal security which the law has established and held sacred, and put their reputation, their freedom, and their persons absolutely in the power of the police”

“4th – Because it is unjust to punish the sex who are the victims of a vice, and leave unpunished the sex who are the main cause, both of the vice and its dreaded consequences; and we consider that liability to arrest, forced medical treatment, and (where this is resisted) imprisonment with hard labour, to which these acts subject women, are the punishment of the most degrading kind”.

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Many influential women of the time associated themselves with this article, such as Florence Nightingale, Harriet Martineau, Mary Carpenter and many figures known in the literary and philosophical world. This article printed in the ‘Daily News’ points out exactly what angered the LNA: the double standards of men, the fact that only woman (even though men were also responsible for the spread of venereal disease) were subjected to humiliating medical examinations, that if they were found to be infected they would be contained in hospitals for treatment, and that if women refused to comply with the police they could face imprisonment regardless of any possible financial, economic, social and emotional impact on the woman or her family.

The LNA faced confrontation not only from their rival group the Association for the Extension of the Contagious Disease Act who were campaigning for the extension of the contagious diseases acts, but by society in general. Many people were appalled by her frank manner in describing sexual matters and police brutality; it drew a lot of negative attention from newspaper editors and columnists, many of whom felt it was inappropriate for a woman to behave in such manner. An example of the condemnation can be seen by an article written by Dr. Preston on 24 June:

“I will pass over to Mrs. Josephine Butler’s address in public before men. . . because I believe that a very large majority of our sex. . . can only characterize it as the height of indecency to say the least. But it is my opinion that women are ignorant of the subject – but not Mrs. Josephine Butler and company – they know nothing about it. . . certainly if such women as Mrs. Butler continue to go about addressing public meetings – they may ultimately do so but as present I venture to say that they are ignorant and long may they remain so. I don’t like to see women discuss the matter at all. No men, whoever they may be, admire women who openly show that they know as much on disgusting subjects as they do themselves, much less so those who are so indelicate to discuss them in public.”

However, her actions made her a heroine among other writers, particularly suffragist pamphleteers who admired her work and continuous effort for the repeal of the acts.

This letter also illustrates the high level of double standards in Victorian society, where men were considered superior to women and a woman who interfered with politics and other matters that ‘did not concern her’ was considered unattractive.

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