The constitutional iniquity involved in all forms of the regulation of…
"The constitutional iniquity involved in all forms of the regulation of…" by Mrs. Josephine E. Butler is a reformist political-legal pamphlet written in the late 19th century, during the Victorian era. The work argues that state systems for regulating prostitution are unconstitutional, unjust, and morally corrupting, targeting especially policies like the Contagious Diseases Acts. The pamphlet opens by stressing the moral stakes, then concentrates on constitutional law. Drawing on authorities such as
Sheldon Amos, Mittermayer, Montesquieu, and Lieber, it outlines the essential safeguards of fair criminal justice—no intimidation or compelled self-incrimination, presumption of innocence, clear indictment, public accusatory procedure, right to counsel, evidence-based verdicts, proportional punishment, and accusations not initiated by the Executive—and shows how regulation regimes violate each one. Butler details coercive “voluntary submission,” secret tribunals, punishment on suspicion by police, executive accusations without reasons, repeated arbitrary imprisonment, and the near impossibility of redress. She identifies forced medical examinations of women as the system’s core abuse and cites Sir Hardinge Giffard’s legal opinion that such bodily searches for evidence are contrary to English law and the fundamental protection of the person. The book warns that these measures erode liberty and justice for all, and it calls citizens to resist and abolish such laws. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Butler, Josephine Elizabeth Grey, 1828-1906 |
|---|---|
| Title | The constitutional iniquity involved in all forms of the regulation of prostitution |
| Original Publication | London: British, Continental and General Federation, 1895. |
| Credits | Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.) |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 40.4 (College-level). Difficult to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | HQ: Social sciences: The family, Marriage, Sex and Gender |
| LoC Class | KD: Law in general, Comparative and uniform law, Jurisprudence: United Kingdom and Ireland |
| Subject | Prostitution -- Great Britain |
| Subject | Prostitutes -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Great Britain |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 76297 |
| Release Date | Jun 14, 2025 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 163 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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