White slavery and child prostitution scandals eruption in Victorian England and other Western nations and what their attitudes towards the age of consent tell us about Victorian society
Child prostitution was synonymous with child labour during the Victorian period. Despite its wide acceptance, the civil society put in more efforts to rescue the girl child from sexual assault. As realised from the articles presented, girls mostly at the age of fifteen found themselves in the streets after escaping mistreatment from their masters and mistresses. The fact that younger girls and mostly below the age of twelve years were preferred for the house chores, older girls beyond the age of fifteen were kicked out of the house. Due to their desperate situations, most of them were enticed into sexual relationship by total strangers. Older adults preferred to go out with younger girls as they demanded less from them. They even took them hostage and even transformed them into wives though they had not married them legally.
It was basically because of this reason that sex scandals and child prostitution was on the rise during the Victorian period. Those found guilty of assaulting young girls came up with all manner of excuses including the fact that they had the intentions of marrying them. Others even claimed to have been enticed into the relationships with the young girls or even given permission by their parents. The rising cases of sexual abuse prompted the government to come up with laws that would protect them not only from the public but also from their own parents. This was considered due to the fact that some desperate parents married off their daughters at a younger age with the promise of monetary rewards. They were also ignorant of the dangers they were exposing their children to and mainly concentrated on their needs. The government came in and set the consent age where a girl could have sexual relationships. This differed from time to time but by the end of the period, the age was set at sixteen years. This hence implied any person found engaging in sexual relationship with a girl under the age of sixteen would be convicted to a jail sentence that included hard labour.
Amidst the crisis, women rose up to defend the plight of the girl child where they advocated not only for their freedom from slavery but also the need for them to acquire education. In a society where the girl child was considered as a lesser sex, women such as Josephine Butler, Eliza Armstrong and Rebecca Jarrett stood up to defend the rights of the girl child. They organised protests which was contrary to culture where women were not supposed to talk without permission from men “The ferment of protest against ingrained societal assumptions could hardly have been unknown to the thoughtful men in Britain who were developing theories about sex”. They represented the reality of child prostitution in United States having been engaged into prostitution before. Despite the challenges that faced their movements and the need to prompt the government to implement laws to protect the girl child, it had the impact that led to the implementation of Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885. This revelation revealed that contrary to what the white society displayed, there were widespread cases of child prostitution. The stories shed light on how the children found themselves into prostitution and the untold stories of the harassment and subsequent drug addiction that they found themselves into. It was also more dangerous for them considering the fact that they were ill informed about contraceptive use and their general reproductive health. They hence advocated for education on the girl child which would subsequently deliver and protect them from such evils of the society.
With increased opportunities, cartels for child prostitution immerged to serve those who frequented the city either for business or just as tourists. Due to their innocent nature and the fact that they were misinformed about their reproductive health, most cartels employed children as young as twelve years. With this, they would mainly promise them shelter, food and clothing as long as they serve the male clients. Such girls were harassed and even denied their rights by the insensitive male clients or even their managers. Since this was a common trend, they could not complain to anybody but instead persevere in the ordeal. Many were exposed to venereal diseases as revealed by court cases. The use of contraceptives was not common during this period and hence exposing many to unwanted pregnancies. Being pregnant was also risky to their careers and hence others resolved to backstreet abortion which was equally detrimental.
The issue of age consent for girl child was initially considered to be ten. This however only came after the society realised the negative implications of sex and child prostitution to children. It was hence only punishable if a child below the age of ten years was enticed or driven into sex. This definitely appears ironic especially considering the modern society where consent is deemed to be eighteen in most nations. “New Yorkers and prosecutors thus produced a distinction between teenage girls and younger girls, a distinction that helped pre? pare the ground for the modern notion of adolescence”. To the Victorian period however, it was a milestone in protecting the rights of the child. There were also provisions to protect, and not to do away with, children below the age of ten years. This meant that the government allowed only certain light jobs such as house chores to children under the age of ten and put guidelines that would govern those who worked in industries such as the textile ones. Children above the age of ten years were considered to be mature enough to consent to whatever activity that was brought their way.
Apart from England, other western nations such as United States, Germany and Canada followed suit. This was especially common among the slaves who were taken up to work in farms, industries and even in homesteads. Apart from using the adult slaves to perform hard labour, their children were also taken in to help and assist in other activities. Since they were considered irrelevant, they were harassed by their masters and many times never compensated for their labour. The low consent age that was set in the Victorian period reveals a lot on how the rights of children were abused. It is rather obvious that children in the Victorian period did not understand what it meant to be a child as they were required to engage in adult age based duties. Apart from their innocent facial appearance, it was not possible to differentiate between a child and an adult as they engaged in almost similar activities.
Looking back at the Victorian period, it is rather obvious to know that the attitude that was held towards the girl child prevented them from enjoying their childhood. This was contrary to the boy child who was at the risk of sexual assault. The boys however were at the risk of facing court cases that involved them with sexual assault. It was even more challenging when an underage boy was responsible for assault. There were however rare cases of homosexuality where younger boys equally were at risk of being abused sexually. Others were also forced into illicit affairs by older women and hence raising the need of equally protecting them.
The fight for girl children’s rights has come from far. It took the courage of some few women who had experienced prostitution in the hands of men who cared less about their health to bring an end to the vice. This was done considering the less significance that women had in the society that included not talking in public. Despite the dire consequences that accrued to them in their fight, their storied ultimately made sense as the law makers empathised with what the gild had to go through. It was time to make change and even though the change was slow, the prevalence of child prostitution decreased especially modern towns like New York. A current society may not even imagine what children above the age of twelve were meant to go through just to survive. Education in such a culture was unheard of as a girl child was meant to help his or her parents supplement the daily needs. “the social construction of sexuality is rarely about the interpersonal dynamics that go on in the bedroom rather it is reflective of larger socio-cultural contexts and the “various social practices that construct sexual regulations” For the girls, early marriages were normal as this would ease the burden for their parents and sometimes earn them some little income. The economic situations and the predicament that the low and middle income group faced left them with no alternative but to allow their children face abuse. Such history is important in helping the current generation accept and appreciate the steps taken to eradicate child labour. Even though such instances are still rampart in some societies, efforts are being made to ensure justice for children below the age of eighteen.
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