Talk:Contagious Diseases Acts

Contagious Diseases Act

I was supposed to move this article to a new page called Contagious Diseases Acts, but when I attempted to do so, some guy with an anonymous IP wrote the article (on the same day!), which I might add, needs to be cleaned up and wikified. RashBold 21:18, 22 July 2005 (UTC)

The Contagious Disease act in Britian was a particular act with a particular effect. It should remain under this page, although the information contained therein should be included in a general overview of contagious diseases acts. The German example would probably not be all that helpful in this particular British example.

This article ignores information from Walkewitiz's book on prostitution in victorian england. (which may indeed be titled that) This argues that the act formalized what had been an informal prostitution, trapping young women in that lifestyle weras before prostitution had simply been a way to supplement thier income. Also, my research on the CD acts indicates that they were abolished by a strange partership of White Cross purity activists who wanted to eliminate vice and early feminists who wanted to improve the living conditions of prostitutes. Both wanted to recind the CD acts but once that goal was accomplished thier differences were not bridgeable. anyway,when i get a change i will put this in. user: notenderwiggin

The problem is that there were 3 CD Acts in Victorian Britain, all of which were designed to target very specific groups of prostitutes. And as the previous comment indicated, the CD Acts had significant implications, joining evangelical preachers and people like Josephine Butler in the same cause. The English Acts need their own page.

The English Acts are separate from the European ones, having occurred later in the 19th century (1864, 1866, and 1869.) The first act was repealed by the second, and the third act was an extension of the second. The first act covered specific ports and military districts, not necessarily specific prostitutes. The second act covered those same places, plus more, plus it created a group with special powers to enforce it. The third act extended the second's time limit, and covered more areas. This article would benefit greatly from the addition of material from the Parliamentary Debates 1864-1886, Jospehine Butler's Reminiscences of a Great Crusade, (her memoirs of her fight against the Acts), Paul McHugh's Prostitution and Victorian Social Reform, and *especially* Judith Walkowitz's Prostitution and Victorian Society. I have never seen any evidence to support the article's claim that women were arrested for the purposes of being coerced into reporting on their friends and neighbors, so I would definitely like a citation to see where that information is coming from. I'm not an expert by any means, but I am writing about the opposition movement to the Contagious Diseases Acts for my Senior paper right now, and have to say that I am quite comfortable with much of the material surrounding the Acts by now. This article could also still use quite a bit of editing and reorganization. <ph34rtehk4t@gmail.com> 24.159.213.56 05:47, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

I should edit the part about Intimidation. What was actually said was "By these (CD Acts), in certain towns containing military bases, any woman suspected of being a prostitute could be stopped and forced to undergo a genital inspection to discover if she had a venereal disease. If she did not submit willingly, she could be arrested and brought before a magistrate. If she was found to be infected, she could be effectively imprisoned in a 'lock' hospital." http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search2?coll_id=6838&inst_id=65. The article looks like a (probably unwitting) embellishment or misunderstanding. Tractorboy60 16:00, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

Removed cleanup tag, but work remains

I've added section headings and performed some text edits. The article is still light on information:

• India: Re-enacted? When was it enacted and repealed? How is UK law relevant to India? Expert comment needed in the article on this
• Other nations: incomplete and more information needed
• Areas: What areas were relevant? Expert commentary with a list would be beneficial.

Adding an expert tag to see if one will come and expand this

Fiddle Faddle 06:55, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

huge unstated assumptions

"It was because of men that there was demand for prostitutes, "

Hmm... this is like saying "because of blacks there is a lot of crime in the ghetto"

"As military men were discouraged from marriage and homosexual behaviour was criminal, prostitution was considered a necessary evil."

Only because it was illegal men did not engage in homosexual behavior? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tomtul2 (talk • contribs) 22:46, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

Explain chatnam

The article currently refers to a "chatnam prostitute". What does chatnam mean? Should it have a capital C, and is it a misspelling of a place name? Trafford09 (talk) 23:49, 25 September 2011 (UTC)