Queen's women : the Contagious Diseases Acts of 1866 and 1869.

Abstract

This thesis will examine the implementation of the Contagious Diseases Acts (CDA) of 1866 and 1869 and the process undertaken by those in and out of Parliament to repeal the legislation. This task will be accomplished by reviewing government documents such as the Hansard Parliamentary Debates and Sessional Reports, the personal papers of Josephine Butler, along with her other publications, pamphlets, newspaper articles, journal articles, medical reports, and secondary works pertaining to this topic. Parliament implemented the CDA in garrison and port cities with the intention of reducing the number of soldiers and sailors afflicted with gonorrhea and syphilis by targeting the prostitutes in those areas. The act required any woman suspected of this trade to undergo examinations and to obtain treatment if diseased. She then received a certificate of health, which some used to charge more for their services, calling themselves Queen's Women, claiming the state insured their health for the men. The purpose of this work will show that while the arguments regarding the constitutional rights of the women affected and the moral question of the state legislating vice played heavily in influencing members of Parliament (MP) to repeal the Acts in 1886, the statistical data compiled by MP James Stansfeld, Halifax, proved the intention to reduce venereal disease failed.