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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 3

The Common Prostitute is the Person We Wish to Control

page 12

The Common Prostitute is the Person We Wish to Control.

I am, I think, not saying too much when I affirm, that if we could only lay our hands upon the notoriously vicious women, upon all, in short, who can be fairly included in the term "common prostitute" we should get rid of the greater, and most dangerous part of the mischief. Now, thin is the very tiling that is done by the Contagious Diseases Act.

The principle of this Act is, that every woman known to the police as a common prostitute, who fails, on notice, to submit herself to a voluntary examination, is liable to be summoned before a magistrate, and subjected by his order, if he shall think fit, to medical examination and supervision, and on the certificate of the medical officer, that she is diseased, subjected to treatment in hospital until cured. It is perhaps unfortunate that no attempt was made by the framers of this Act to define accurately the persons to whom they intended to apply this term "common prostitute." As might be expected, much capital has been made by opponents of the measure, out of this omission, though I believe that no practical evil has hitherto resulted from it. To guard against all possibility of misconception in future, it may, perhaps, be wise for the legislature to supply this omission in any act dealing with the population at large.