Josephine Butler Facts & Worksheets

• During the Victorian era in England, working-class women commonly turned to prostitution due to a number of socio-economic issues. Even though prostitution helped many poor women survive, Victorian values considered it shameful and immoral.
• Uncertainty in 19th-century statistics hindered the assessment of whether prostitution was on the rise or decline during this era. However, it is certain that Victorians in the 1840s and 1850s believed that prostitution and venereal illness were on the rise.
• The government aimed to control the high prevalence of venereal disease among its armed personnel by regulating prostitution. In 1864, one-third of medical cases in the army were due to venereal disease, with hospital admissions for gonorrhoea and syphilis reaching 290.7 per 1,000 troops. Prostitutes targeted customers in the military, taking advantage of servicemen's enforced abstinence and the harsh living conditions in the barracks.
• As a result, the UK parliament passed the CD Acts in 1864, with modifications made in 1866 and 1869. The Acts sanctioned the forcible examination and treatment of women suspected of being involved in prostitution.
• Before the Acts, the number of troops decreased significantly from 83,386 to 59,758 over 6 years. The Committee on the Contagious Diseases Acts presented evidence in 1879 indicating that various factors other than venereal disease contributed to the decrease in cases. 
• Some men were discharged for venereal diseases, while others were discharged for bad character. There was also a notable decrease in military recruitment.
• Moreover, doctors noted that the only progress seen after the Acts was in the management of venereal illness, but it had minimal effect on its transmission. Therefore, the effectiveness of the Acts in reducing the spread of venereal disease is uncertain.
• Under the Acts, women who were declared to be infected were kept in lock hospitals or wards where conditions were occasionally poor. An 1882 assessment found that there were 402 beds available for female patients in all voluntary lock hospitals in Great Britain, but only 232 beds were paid for usage. For lock hospital shortages, female venereal patients were sent to workhouse infirmaries.
• Depending on the city, the lock hospital and asylum may have operated together. Women were treated in asylums for moral deviation. The idea was to 'cure' prostitutes of their sexual impulses because they were deviant. The general public liked asylum treatment more because of Victorian 'respectability' expectations.
• The Acts were rooted in the demeaning belief that these women were responsible for the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, and it led to their unjust and degrading treatment under the guise of public health.
• In 1869, Josephine strongly objected to the Acts after learning about them. She identified the Acts as infringing on women's physical autonomy and perpetuating gender-based discrimination. On 31 December of the same year, the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts (LNA) was formed.
• As part of the campaign, Butler travelled to Britain in 1870, visiting 99 meetings in the course of the year. 
• She concentrated on getting support from working-class family men who were upset about the intrusive examinations women underwent, which she referred to as surgical or steel rape. She managed to convince numerous audience members despite encountering strong resistance.
• The collapse of the Liberal administration in 1874 halted the repeal effort for the Contagious Diseases Acts, which had official backing. The LNA's attempts to convince Liberal MPs to oppose the Acts were progressing slowly.
• In December 1874, Josephine journeyed to Europe, where she engaged with female organisations and civic officials. She established the British and Continental Federation for the Abolition of Prostitution, subsequently known as the International Abolitionist Federation, to advocate against government control of prostitution and to work towards ending female enslavement.
• The 1880 general election resulted in the displacement of Disraeli's Conservative Party and the ascension of Gladstone's second cabinet, which advocated for the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts. Political pressure from Liberal backbenchers resulted in growing opposition to the Acts.
• In February 1883, the House disapproved of the mandatory examination of women under the Acts. After discussing the proposal, MPs decided to stop the inspections by a wide margin in April.
• Josephine's campaign resonated with many, and she gained widespread support from various segments of society – activists, intellectuals and everyday citizens – galvanising a unified call for justice. Finally, on 6 April 1886, after 17 years of relentless campaigning, the controversial Contagious Diseases Acts were repealed.

Exposing Child Prostitution

• In 1885, Josephine Butler met Florence Soper Booth, the daughter-in-law of William Booth, who founded the Salvation Army. The two joined forces to expose child prostitution in Britain.
• Along with other allies, Florence and Josephine convinced The Pall Mall Gazette editor, William Thomas Stead, to support their cause. Stead believed that the most effective way to demonstrate the occurrence of purchasing young girls for prostitution was to personally buy a girl.
• Josephine met Stead with a former prostitute and brothel proprietor who was residing in her hostel. Stead bought a 13-year-old girl from her mother for £5 in a Marylebone slum and brought her to France. Josephine's article, titled 'The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon', revealed the prevalence of child prostitution in London.
• Josephine delivered a speech advocating for enhanced protection for youth and the elevation of the age of consent. The Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885 was approved, increasing the legal age of consent from 13 to 16 years old and criminalising the act of procuring girls for prostitution through drugs, coercion or deception.

Later Years and Death

• In her later years, Josephine Butler continued to be an influential figure in the fight for women's rights. She remained an active advocate for the well-being of women and girls, dedicating her life to addressing the systemic issues that perpetuated their exploitation.
• Although the Contagious Diseases Acts were repealed in the UK in 1886, they were nonetheless enforced in India, where prostitutes near British cantonments were regularly subjected to forced examinations. 
• Major-General Edward Chapman implemented the legislation found in the Special Cantonments Acts. Josephine initiated a campaign to abolish the legislation by drawing parallels between the girls and the enslaved.
• In June 1888, the House of Commons unanimously passed a resolution to rescind the legislation, instructing the Indian government to revoke the Acts. To bypass this directive, the India Office recommended to the Viceroy of India that it introduce new laws requiring suspected prostitutes with contagious diseases to undergo an examination or risk being expelled from the cantonment.
• As her husband's health deteriorated, Josephine devoted more time to caring for him. In 1889, they journeyed to Naples and caught influenza during the 1889–90 epidemic. Following his passing, Josephine relocated to Wimbledon, London, where she dedicated four months to compiling a detailed report demonstrating the ongoing operation of lock hospitals, mandatory examinations and the exploitation of young prostitutes.
• Starting in 1901, Josephine gradually disengaged from public activities, stepping down from her roles in campaign groups and dedicating more time to her family. On 30 December 1906, Josephine passed away in Wooler, Northumberland. Her body was buried in the nearby village of Kirknewton. Despite her death, her legacy lived on through the impact of her advocacy and activism.