Josephine Butler (1828-1906) led the campaign to overturn the Contagious Disease Acts of 1864, 1866, and 1869, through which the British Parliament attempted to control prostitution and the spread of venereal diseases such as syphilis by imposing harsh penalties on prostitutes but not on their male customers Owing in large part to opposition by Butler and others, the acts were repealed in 1886 The following passages are part of Butler's attempts to educate the public about the harsh and unjust consequences of these laws

I daresay you all know that there are women, alas, thousands of women, in England who live by sin Sometimes, when you have been late at your market town, you may have passed one such in the street, and have shrunk aside, feeling it a shame even to touch her, or perhaps, instead of scorn, a deep pity has...