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Abolitionism: Unterschied zwischen den Versionen
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From 1864 to 1869, the British Parliament passed so-called Contagious Diseases Acts (CDA) on the recommendation of a committee established in 1862 to inquire into venereal disease in the armed forces. By 1864, one out of three sick cases in the army had been caused by venereal disease, and admissions into hospitals for gonorrhoea and syphilis had reached 290.7 per 1,000 of total troop strength. The cause of this situation was easily detected. As military men were discouraged from marriage and homosexual behaviour was criminal, prostitution was considered a necessary evil. Und these circumstances, it was deemed most effective to shield men from venereal disease by tightening health controls over prostitutes in certain ports and army towns. The CDA did exactly that by allowing police officers to subject women to compulsory checks for veneral disease and to confine them to locked hospitals ("Lock Hospitals") until "cured". In the beginning, the time limit for lock hospitals was three months, but it was subsequently extended to one year, and while the original act could only be applied in a few selected ports and towns, there were no less than 18 "subjected districts" by 1869. | From 1864 to 1869, the British Parliament passed so-called Contagious Diseases Acts (CDA) on the recommendation of a committee established in 1862 to inquire into venereal disease in the armed forces. By 1864, one out of three sick cases in the army had been caused by venereal disease, and admissions into hospitals for gonorrhoea and syphilis had reached 290.7 per 1,000 of total troop strength. The cause of this situation was easily detected. As military men were discouraged from marriage and homosexual behaviour was criminal, prostitution was considered a necessary evil. Und these circumstances, it was deemed most effective to shield men from venereal disease by tightening health controls over prostitutes in certain ports and army towns. The CDA did exactly that by allowing police officers to subject women to compulsory checks for veneral disease and to confine them to locked hospitals ("Lock Hospitals") until "cured". In the beginning, the time limit for lock hospitals was three months, but it was subsequently extended to one year, and while the original act could only be applied in a few selected ports and towns, there were no less than 18 "subjected districts" by 1869. | ||
1869, then, was a watershed year. This year saw the foundation of the Association for the Extension of the Contagious Diseases Acts, but it also witnessed the foundation of its adversaries, namely the National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts, and - since this was initially restricting women from its meetings - the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts by December. The protagonist of the Ladies Association was Josephine Butler. Both groups actively campaigned against the acts and between 1870 and 1885, 17,365 petitions against the acts bearing 2,606,429 signatures were presented to the House of Commons, and during the same period, more than 900 meetings were held. The repealists struck a chord with the public consensus on the issues surrounding prostitution and they highlighted the issue of double standards. While the abolition of slavery was all about equality between the races, the fight against the discriminatory control of prostitutes was all about equality between the sexes. To punish women in order to protect men was evidently unjust. | 1869, then, was a watershed year. This year saw the foundation of the Association for the Extension of the Contagious Diseases Acts, but it also witnessed the foundation of its adversaries, namely the National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts, and - since this was initially restricting women from its meetings - the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts by December. | ||
The main cause for conflict had been the conditions in what was called a Lock hospital or Lock ward, i.e. an institution designed to treat those infected with a venereal disease. Once declared diseased a woman would be confined there (or in a workhouse infirmary) under stressful conditions. | |||
The protagonist of the Ladies Association was Josephine Butler. Both groups actively campaigned against the acts and between 1870 and 1885, 17,365 petitions against the acts bearing 2,606,429 signatures were presented to the House of Commons, and during the same period, more than 900 meetings were held. The repealists struck a chord with the public consensus on the issues surrounding prostitution and they highlighted the issue of double standards. While the abolition of slavery was all about equality between the races, the fight against the discriminatory control of prostitutes was all about equality between the sexes. To punish women in order to protect men was evidently unjust. | |||
As one prostitute said: ''It is men, only men, from the first to the last that we have to do with! To please a man I did wrong at first, then I was flung about from man to man. Men police lay hands on us. By men we are examined, handled, doctored. In the hospital it is a man again who makes prayer and reads the Bible for us. We are had up before magistrates who are men, and we never get out of the hands of men till we die! | As one prostitute said: ''It is men, only men, from the first to the last that we have to do with! To please a man I did wrong at first, then I was flung about from man to man. Men police lay hands on us. By men we are examined, handled, doctored. In the hospital it is a man again who makes prayer and reads the Bible for us. We are had up before magistrates who are men, and we never get out of the hands of men till we die! | ||
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In 1886, the CDAs were repealed, and abolitionism had won yet another victory. This abolition had taken 22 years from the first contagious diseases act, and 17 from the foundation of the movement to abolition. In the long run, this was to lead to women organizing themselves and actively campaigning for their rights in all walks of life. | In 1886, the CDAs were repealed, and abolitionism had won yet another victory. This abolition had taken 22 years from the first contagious diseases act, and 17 from the foundation of the movement to abolition. In the long run, this was to lead to women organizing themselves and actively campaigning for their rights in all walks of life. | ||
=== What was to be Abolished? === | === What was to be Abolished? === | ||