Prostitution: Prevention and Reform in England, 1860-1914

A comprehensive overview of attempts to eradicate prostitution from English society, including discussion of early attempts at reform and prevention through to the campaigns of the social purists. It looks in depth at the various reform institutions which were set up to house prostitutes, analyzing the motives of the reformers as well as daily life within these penitentiaries. Attempts at prevention are revealed through close study of the "Ladies Associations for the Care of Friendless Girls" which tried to educate society morally and campaigned for protective legislation for prostitutes. This book reveals: reformers' attitudes towards prostitutes and prostitution; daily life inside reform institutions; attempts at moral education; developments in moral health theories; the influence of eugenics; and attempts at suppressing prostitution. The book provides the reader with an account of the social and political efforts to rid it from society.