A secret world of sex : the British experience 1900-1960. Pt. 6, The kiss of death.

Narrated by Zoe Wannamaker, the series examines sexual attitudes and behaviour throughout the first half of this century. Pregnancy as a result of rape or a sexual relationship outside marriage could result in a woman being consigned to a mental hospital. Venereal disease was identified with sin until it became treatable with penicillin. Years later, witnesses speak of the experiences which damaged or distorted their lives. Extract from archive newsreels, feature film and public information films illustrate their stories. "Part 6: The Kiss of Death"The illness was unmentionable, hospitals and doctors were censorious and even punitive, and patients routinely frightened and humiliated. In this account of the 20th century social history of venereal disease witnesses recall their ordeals by medicine and morality. Clips from health propaganda films of the period provide a dubious picture of effective and sympathetic medical treatment, from which details that might discourage sufferers from reporting their symptoms are noticeably omitted.