Contagious Diseases Acts

The scandalous Contagious Diseases Acts of the 1860s, which empowered the police to question and forcibly examine suspected prostitutes in garrison towns, were imposed in Portsmouth. These unfortunate ladies, many of whom were not guilty, were put in a locked ward of the Royal Hospital and, if they resisted, were sentenced to hard labour. Not surprisingly there was a national outcry with a large rally of protestors that included the tireless social reformer, Josephine Butler, being held in Portsmouth in 1870. These acts were finally repealed in 1886.