Prostitution in Paris : Dr. Chapman's replies to the remarks of M. le Fort and Mr. Berkeley Hill, on certain passages in the articles on prostitution published in The Westminster Review.

  • Chapman, John, 1821-1894.
Date:
1870
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Prostitution in Paris : Dr. Chapman's replies to the remarks of M. le Fort and Mr. Berkeley Hill, on certain passages in the articles on prostitution published in The Westminster Review. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    (Isolees) : there were 2,429 in 1855 ; but in I860 there were 2,525. “ 5. Considerable increase of the number of clandestine prosti- tutes (insoumises) : this point cannot be contested. “ 6. Confirmation of the fact that a large proportion of the clan- destine prostitutes are suffering from syphilis or other contagious affections : the sanitary statistics prove that of these prostitutes 1 in 2'36 is syphilitic. “All these results are inter-dependent or bound up with each other (solidaires). They demonstrate that prostitution augments, and that it becomes more dangerous to the public health.” “ Are the efforts of the police in this matter relaxed ? No ; but the performance of their duties has become more difficult. All the details which I have given prove that the police have vigor- ously organised their means of supervision, of sanitary control, and of repression : in 1855 the number of clandestine prostitutes arrested was only 1,323 ; but in 1869 the number was 1,999.” After adducing further evidence of the resolute activity of the police, M. Lecour continues,—“ These figures are conclusive. It remains then established that the Administration has redoubled its activity, that it lias multiplied its acts of repression in respect to prostitutes, and that it has in fact succeeded in maintaining in satisfactory conditions the sanitary state of registered pros- titutes. “ But, on the other hand, we see a continuous diminution of the number of these registered prostitutes: the total number of whom in 1855 was 4,257, whereas in 1869 it had fallen to 3,731, and on January 1, 1870, was only 3,656. “This fact is the more important, because it corresponds to a notable augmentation of clandestine prostitution. “ Here is a social evil which must be thoroughly recognised, and which no measures resorted to by the police can alone suffice to destroy. “ The world of prostitution—both establishments and personal —is undergoing a transformation. The number of maisons cle tolerance lessens : it will always go on lessening. As speculative enterprises these houses offer scarcely any advantages now, and they would disappear if they were not resorted to by travellers, soldiers, and workmen. It would be a grave error to suppose that on behalf of public morality this fact constitutes a reason for rejoicing, for it is due only to a simple change of form. Now- adays men search for adventure at the great risk of their health, and in many cases, of their tranquillity. It is a question of vanity and luxury on an immoral, unwholesome, ground. Instead of the transient contact which, in the maison to/erce, or in the apart- ment of the jille isolee, is only a kind of material contamination,