History of Prostitution in the Victorian Period

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History of Prostitution in the Victorian Period

In 1858 there were 7,194 prostitutes in London alone. "Given the unreliability of the statistics, one cannot say whether the incidence of prostitution was increasing or decreasing during the nineteenth century or compare that century with other periods. It nevertheless seems clear that the Victorians in the 1840's and 1850's thought that both prostitution and venereal disease were increasing" (Vicinus 79-80). There was increasing visibility of prostitution on the London streets and the Victorians were also conscious of the increasing demand of prostitutes (Vicinus 80). The compilation of the information led the era to become concerned with the "Great Social Evil" that was permeating many of the large cities. The concern over prostitution led to many actions, such as the Contagious Diseases Acts, which then led to the formation of the feminist group called the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts (Vicinus 96).

Victorian society held many common beliefs relating to what kind of person co...

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