Motivations of the Opponents to the British Contagious Diseases Acts (1866-1886)
Location
CSU 202
Start Date
24-4-2007 10:45 AM
End Date
24-4-2007 12:30 PM
Student's Major
History
Student's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Mentor's Name
Larry Witherell
Mentor's Department
History
Mentor's College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description
In 1864 Parliament passed the first Contagious Diseases [CD] Act which allowed authorities in certain ports and military districts to arrest women suspected of prostitution and subject them to testing for venereal diseases. The Act was expanded to include eleven more ports and military garrisons in 1866. With the introduction of the second Act, an opposition emerged and agitated for repeal of the Acts because they felt they were a violation of women's civil liberties. Opponents were eventually effective in getting rid of the Acts in 1886. This paper will demonstrate how the opposition's reasons for campaigning against the Contagious Diseases Acts changed between 1866 and 1886. The research for this project will include the Parliamentary Debates, reports from Parliamentary committees, and other parliamentary papers; nineteenth-century British newspapers including the London Times', nineteenth-century British periodicals, including the Shield', published memoirs, dialiers, and autobiographies by participants, particularly Josephine Butler; and secondary literature, including biographies, monographs, and scholarly journal articles.
Motivations of the Opponents to the British Contagious Diseases Acts (1866-1886)
CSU 202
In 1864 Parliament passed the first Contagious Diseases [CD] Act which allowed authorities in certain ports and military districts to arrest women suspected of prostitution and subject them to testing for venereal diseases. The Act was expanded to include eleven more ports and military garrisons in 1866. With the introduction of the second Act, an opposition emerged and agitated for repeal of the Acts because they felt they were a violation of women's civil liberties. Opponents were eventually effective in getting rid of the Acts in 1886. This paper will demonstrate how the opposition's reasons for campaigning against the Contagious Diseases Acts changed between 1866 and 1886. The research for this project will include the Parliamentary Debates, reports from Parliamentary committees, and other parliamentary papers; nineteenth-century British newspapers including the London Times', nineteenth-century British periodicals, including the Shield', published memoirs, dialiers, and autobiographies by participants, particularly Josephine Butler; and secondary literature, including biographies, monographs, and scholarly journal articles.
Recommended Citation
Pase, Kathryn. "Motivations of the Opponents to the British Contagious Diseases Acts (1866-1886)." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 24, 2007.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2007/oral-session-12/1
