The Gateway Forum

In the light of the Epstein files, news of smuggling gangs into Europe and the UK, and documentaries of dark, protected ‘off the map’ locations in foreign countries, we may see sex trafficking as a serious modern concern.  But it has always been a serious problem throughout history, no less so in ‘prim and proper’ Victorian England.  Rarely has it been brought into the light, nor the powerful forces behind it been challenged and exposed.  

But 50 years before women gained the right to vote, Josephine Butler (1828-1906) a devout Christian from a privileged background – became one of the most courageous social reformers in modern history, fighting a powerful patriarchy, and succeeding against all odds in repealing a law which allowed prostitutes to be sexually assaulted by police on a regular basis.

Learn about the life of this most remarkable woman, a local heroine (from Cheltenham and Oxford) whose faith drove her to act at great personal peril, and yet whose legacy has been largely obscured – being too far ahead of her time.

About the talk

“The most distinguished Englishwoman of the nineteenth century.”

So said Millicent Fawcett, suffragette, whose statue stands in Parliament Square, of the Christian social reformer Josephine Butler.  Was Fawcett wrong?  If not, how can such an inspirational woman be so little known, even in Christian circles?

It is too simple to say it was because she was a woman.

From a privileged background, Butler chose to be a friend to the poor, particularly those who had fallen into prostitution who were commonly seen in large parts of Victorian society as being authors of their own downfall.  Facing death-threats and vested interests, her lifelong campaign against sex trafficking and social attitudes culminated in the repeal by the (all-male) Parliament of the Contagious Diseases Act 1864.

The talk will give a synopsis of her life and explain the significance of the Act.  We will examine why social and gender historians are reluctant to celebrate her achievements, contrasting her legacy with that of her contemporary, Florence Nightingale.  Butler spent formative years in Oxford and Cheltenham and the talk will be illustrated with stories and photos from Oxford, where James works as a freelance tour guide, believing she deserves to be better remembered.