In the mid-nineteenth century many parts of England and Wales were still subjected to a system of regulated prostitution which, by identifying and detaining for treatment infected prostitutes, aimed to protect members of the armed forces (94 per cent of whom were forbidden to marry) from venereal diseases.

The coercive nature of the Contagious Diseases Acts and the double standard which allowed the continuance of prostitution on the ground that the prostitute 'herself the supreme type of vice, she is ultimately the most efficient guardian of virtue', aroused the ire of many reformers, not only women's rights campaigners.

Paul McHugh analyses the social composition of the different repeal and reform movements - the liberal reformists, the passionate struggle of the charismatic Josephine Butler, the Tory reformers whose achievement was in the improvement of preventative medicine, and finally the Social Purity movement of the 1880s which favoured a coercive approach. This is a fascinating study of ideals and principles in action, of pressure-group strategy, and of individual leaders in the repeal movement's sixteen year progress to victory.

The book was originally publised in 1980.

Paul Mchugh

Preface, Paul Mchugh; Part 101 Prostitution and Victorian Social Reform Paul McHugh, Paul Mchugh; Chapter 1 Introduction, Paul Mchugh; Chapter 2 Regulating Prostitution, Paul Mchugh; Chapter 3 The Attack on the Acts Launched, Paul Mchugh; Chapter 4 Defeat and Regrouping, Paul Mchugh; Chapter 5 The Repeal Campaign in Action - Organisation and Methods, Paul Mchugh; Chapter 6 The Role of Women in the Repeal Movement, Paul Mchugh; Chapter 7 Religion and the Repeal Campaign, Paul Mchugh; Chapter 8 The Liberal Strategy, Paul Mchugh; Chapter 9 Political Connections and Alliances in the Repeal Campaign, Paul Mchugh; Chapter 10 Conclusion, Paul Mchugh The Principal Repeal Associations As At 1 June 1880, Paul Mchugh Income and Expenditure Figures, Paul Mchugh Some Employees of Repeal Associations and Salaries, Paul Mchugh;