"This pernicious delusion": Law, medicine, and child sexual abuse in early-twentieth-century Scotland

Journal of the History of Sexuality

Volumn 10, Issue 1, 2001, Pages 62-77

  Davidson, Roger ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; CHILD; CHILD ABUSE; CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE; CRIMINAL LAW; ETHNOLOGY; FEMALE; GONORRHEA; HISTORY; HUMAN; JURISPRUDENCE; LAW; LEGAL ASPECT; PHYSICIAN; PRESCHOOL CHILD; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; RAPE; SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE; SYPHILIS; UNITED KINGDOM;

CHILD; CHILD ABUSE; CHILD ABUSE, SEXUAL; CHILD, PRESCHOOL; CRIMINAL LAW; FEMALE; GONORRHEA; HISTORY, 19TH CENTURY; HISTORY, 20TH CENTURY; HUMANS; JUDICIAL ROLE; JURISPRUDENCE; LEGISLATION AS TOPIC; PHYSICIANS; RAPE; SCOTLAND; SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES; SYPHILIS;

EID: 0035588368     PISSN: 10434070     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (96)

1. West Circuit Record Minutes, National Archives of Scotland (hereafter, NAS), JC 13/129.
2. High Court Precognitions, NAS, AD 15/13/70.
3. Ibid.
4. "In folk medicine the law of contact, and of contagion, almost invariably has to do with the magical divestment of disease" (W. D. Hand, Magical Medicine: The Folkloric Component of Medicine in Folk Belief, Custom and Ritual of the Peoples of Europe and America [Berkeley, 1980], 309). For the role of such beliefs in sexual offenses against children, see Magical Medicine, 18, 26.
5. "In folk medicine the law of contact, and of contagion, almost invariably has to do with the magical divestment of disease" (W. D. Hand, Magical Medicine: The Folkloric Component of Medicine in Folk Belief, Custom and Ritual of the Peoples of Europe and America [Berkeley, 1980], 309). For the role of such beliefs in sexual offenses against children, see Magical Medicine, 18, 26.
6. See F. B. Smith, The People's Health (New York, 1979), 303; A. E. Simpson, "Vulnerability and the Age of Female Consent: Legal Innovation and Its Effect on Prosecutions for Rape in Eighteenth-Century London," in Sexual Underworlds of the Enlightenment, ed. G. S. Rousseau and R. Porter (Manchester, 1987), 193-96; L. E. Merians, "The London Lock Hospital and the Lock Asylum for Women," in The Secret Malady: Venereal Disease in Eighteenth Century Britain and France, ed. L. E. Merians (Lexington, KY, 1996), 134; M. Spongberg, Feminizing Venereal Disease: The Body of the Prostitute in Nineteenth-Century Medical Discourse (London, 1997), 110; K. J. Taylor, "Venereal Disease in Nineteenth Century Children," Journal of Psychohistory 12 (1985): 431-64.
7. See F. B. Smith, The People's Health (New York, 1979), 303; A. E. Simpson, "Vulnerability and the Age of Female Consent: Legal Innovation and Its Effect on Prosecutions for Rape in Eighteenth-Century London," in Sexual Underworlds of the Enlightenment, ed. G. S. Rousseau and R. Porter (Manchester, 1987), 193-96; L. E. Merians, "The London Lock Hospital and the Lock Asylum for Women," in The Secret Malady: Venereal Disease in Eighteenth Century Britain and France, ed. L. E. Merians (Lexington, KY, 1996), 134; M. Spongberg, Feminizing Venereal Disease: The Body of the Prostitute in Nineteenth-Century Medical Discourse (London, 1997), 110; K. J. Taylor, "Venereal Disease in Nineteenth Century Children," Journal of Psychohistory 12 (1985): 431-64.
8. See F. B. Smith, The People's Health (New York, 1979), 303; A. E. Simpson, "Vulnerability and the Age of Female Consent: Legal Innovation and Its Effect on Prosecutions for Rape in Eighteenth-Century London," in Sexual Underworlds of the Enlightenment, ed. G. S. Rousseau and R. Porter (Manchester, 1987), 193-96; L. E. Merians, "The London Lock Hospital and the Lock Asylum for Women," in The Secret Malady: Venereal Disease in Eighteenth Century Britain and France, ed. L. E. Merians (Lexington, KY, 1996), 134; M. Spongberg, Feminizing Venereal Disease: The Body of the Prostitute in Nineteenth-Century Medical Discourse (London, 1997), 110; K. J. Taylor, "Venereal Disease in Nineteenth Century Children," Journal of Psychohistory 12 (1985): 431-64.
9. See F. B. Smith, The People's Health (New York, 1979), 303; A. E. Simpson, "Vulnerability and the Age of Female Consent: Legal Innovation and Its Effect on Prosecutions for Rape in Eighteenth-Century London," in Sexual Underworlds of the Enlightenment, ed. G. S. Rousseau and R. Porter (Manchester, 1987), 193-96; L. E. Merians, "The London Lock Hospital and the Lock Asylum for Women," in The Secret Malady: Venereal Disease in Eighteenth Century Britain and France, ed. L. E. Merians (Lexington, KY, 1996), 134; M. Spongberg, Feminizing Venereal Disease: The Body of the Prostitute in Nineteenth-Century Medical Discourse (London, 1997), 110; K. J. Taylor, "Venereal Disease in Nineteenth Century Children," Journal of Psychohistory 12 (1985): 431-64.
10. See F. B. Smith, The People's Health (New York, 1979), 303; A. E. Simpson, "Vulnerability and the Age of Female Consent: Legal Innovation and Its Effect on Prosecutions for Rape in Eighteenth-Century London," in Sexual Underworlds of the Enlightenment, ed. G. S. Rousseau and R. Porter (Manchester, 1987), 193-96; L. E. Merians, "The London Lock Hospital and the Lock Asylum for Women," in The Secret Malady: Venereal Disease in Eighteenth Century Britain and France, ed. L. E. Merians (Lexington, KY, 1996), 134; M. Spongberg, Feminizing Venereal Disease: The Body of the Prostitute in Nineteenth-Century Medical Discourse (London, 1997), 110; K. J. Taylor, "Venereal Disease in Nineteenth Century Children," Journal of Psychohistory 12 (1985): 431-64.
11. C. Smart, "A History of Ambivalence and Conflict in the Discursive Construction of the 'Child Victim' of Sexual Abuse," Social and Legal Studies 8 (1999): 396-97. See also, Reports and Minutes of Evidence of the Royal Commission on Venereal Diseases, P. (arliamentary) P.(apers), 1914 (Cd. 7475) XLIX, q. 2822; 1916 (Cd. 8189) XVI, p. 28; 1916 (Cd. 8190) XVI, qq. 13874-80.
12. C. Smart, "A History of Ambivalence and Conflict in the Discursive Construction of the 'Child Victim' of Sexual Abuse," Social and Legal Studies 8 (1999): 396-97. See also, Reports and Minutes of Evidence of the Royal Commission on Venereal Diseases, P. (arliamentary) P.(apers), 1914 (Cd. 7475) XLIX, q. 2822; 1916 (Cd. 8189) XVI, p. 28; 1916 (Cd. 8190) XVI, qq. 13874-80.
13. P.P. 1920 (222) VI, 524.
14. Departmental Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Young Persons in Scotland, papers and transcripts of evidence, NAS, ED 11/447. Writing on folk medicine in the mid 1920s, the Scottish ethnologist David Rorie also maintained: "The commonest cause, of course, of criminal assaults on young children is the wish to get rid by transference of venerea disease" (D. Buchan, Folk Tradition and Folk Medicine in Scotland. The Writings of David Rorie [Edinburgh, 1994], 101).
15. Report of Departmental Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Young Persons in Scotland, P.P. 1924-25 (Cmd. 2561) XV, p. 54. The Committee members were especially impressed by the views of Dr. Samuel Cameron (Professor of Gynaecology at the University of Glasgow) in his Manual of Gynaecology (London, 3d ed., 1925, 128): "The disgusting superstition, surviving amongst ignorant and vicious men, that contact with an immature vulva will ensure a cure of venereal disease, is still responsible in many cases."
16. Report of Departmental Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Young Persons in Scotland, P.P. 1924-25 (Cmd. 2561) XV, p. 54. The Committee members were especially impressed by the views of Dr. Samuel Cameron (Professor of Gynaecology at the University of Glasgow) in his Manual of Gynaecology (London, 3d ed., 1925, 128): "The disgusting superstition, surviving amongst ignorant and vicious men, that contact with an immature vulva will ensure a cure of venereal disease, is still responsible in many cases."
17. See, for example, J. Glaister, A Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence, Toxicology and Public Health (Edinburgh, 1902), 329; J. Glaister and J. Glaister, Jr., A Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology (Edinburgh, 1931), 530. For details of Glaister's medical ideology and career as a "medical detective," see M. A. Crowther and B. White, On Soul and Conscience 150 Years of Forensic Medicine in Glasgow (Aberdeen, 1988), ch. 3.
18. See, for example, J. Glaister, A Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence, Toxicology and Public Health (Edinburgh, 1902), 329; J. Glaister and J. Glaister, Jr., A Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology (Edinburgh, 1931), 530. For details of Glaister's medical ideology and career as a "medical detective," see M. A. Crowther and B. White, On Soul and Conscience 150 Years of Forensic Medicine in Glasgow (Aberdeen, 1988), ch. 3.
19. See, for example, J. Glaister, A Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence, Toxicology and Public Health (Edinburgh, 1902), 329; J. Glaister and J. Glaister, Jr., A Textbook of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology (Edinburgh, 1931), 530. For details of Glaister's medical ideology and career as a "medical detective," see M. A. Crowther and B. White, On Soul and Conscience 150 Years of Forensic Medicine in Glasgow (Aberdeen, 1988), ch. 3.
20. Unless otherwise stated, the following narrative is based on S. Innes, "Love and Work: Feminism, Family and Ideas of Equality and Citizenship, Britain 1900-39" (Ph.D. diss., University of Edinburgh, 1998); L. Abrams, The Orphan Country: Children of Scotland's Broken Homes from 1845 to the Present Day (Edinburgh, 1998); C. Smart, "Reconsidering the Recent History of Child Sexual Abuse, 1910-1960," Journal of Social Policy 29 (2000): 55-71; Smart, "History of Ambivalence and Conflict," 391-409; L. Mahood, Policing Gender, Class and Family: Britain 1850-1940 (London, 1995).
21. Unless otherwise stated, the following narrative is based on S. Innes, "Love and Work: Feminism, Family and Ideas of Equality and Citizenship, Britain 1900-39" (Ph.D. diss., University of Edinburgh, 1998); L. Abrams, The Orphan Country: Children of Scotland's Broken Homes from 1845 to the Present Day (Edinburgh, 1998); C. Smart, "Reconsidering the Recent History of Child Sexual Abuse, 1910-1960," Journal of Social Policy 29 (2000): 55-71; Smart, "History of Ambivalence and Conflict," 391-409; L. Mahood, Policing Gender, Class and Family: Britain 1850-1940 (London, 1995).
22. Unless otherwise stated, the following narrative is based on S. Innes, "Love and Work: Feminism, Family and Ideas of Equality and Citizenship, Britain 1900-39" (Ph.D. diss., University of Edinburgh, 1998); L. Abrams, The Orphan Country: Children of Scotland's Broken Homes from 1845 to the Present Day (Edinburgh, 1998); C. Smart, "Reconsidering the Recent History of Child Sexual Abuse, 1910-1960," Journal of Social Policy 29 (2000): 55-71; Smart, "History of Ambivalence and Conflict," 391-409; L. Mahood, Policing Gender, Class and Family: Britain 1850-1940 (London, 1995).
23. Unless otherwise stated, the following narrative is based on S. Innes, "Love and Work: Feminism, Family and Ideas of Equality and Citizenship, Britain 1900-39" (Ph.D. diss., University of Edinburgh, 1998); L. Abrams, The Orphan Country: Children of Scotland's Broken Homes from 1845 to the Present Day (Edinburgh, 1998); C. Smart, "Reconsidering the Recent History of Child Sexual Abuse, 1910-1960," Journal of Social Policy 29 (2000): 55-71; Smart, "History of Ambivalence and Conflict," 391-409; L. Mahood, Policing Gender, Class and Family: Britain 1850-1940 (London, 1995).
24. Unless otherwise stated, the following narrative is based on S. Innes, "Love and Work: Feminism, Family and Ideas of Equality and Citizenship, Britain 1900-39" (Ph.D. diss., University of Edinburgh, 1998); L. Abrams, The Orphan Country: Children of Scotland's Broken Homes from 1845 to the Present Day (Edinburgh, 1998); C. Smart, "Reconsidering the Recent History of Child Sexual Abuse, 1910-1960," Journal of Social Policy 29 (2000): 55-71; Smart, "History of Ambivalence and Conflict," 391-409; L. Mahood, Policing Gender, Class and Family: Britain 1850-1940 (London, 1995).
25. See especially, Minutes of Evidence to the Joint Select Committee on the Criminal Law Amendment Bill, Criminal Law (no. 2) Bill and the Sexual Offences Bill, P.P. 1920 (222) VI; Children, Young Persons, Bill, P.P. 1924 (Bill 37), 1. The Children, Young Persons, Bill stipulated that "if. . . proved that at the time of the commission of the offence [gross indecency], the offender was to his knowledge suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form, or that he . . . had reason to suspect that he was so suffering, the court may . . . sentence him to be kept in penal servitude for five years, or any shorter term not less than three years."
26. See especially, Minutes of Evidence to the Joint Select Committee on the Criminal Law Amendment Bill, Criminal Law (no. 2) Bill and the Sexual Offences Bill, P.P. 1920 (222) VI; Children, Young Persons, Bill, P.P. 1924 (Bill 37), 1. The Children, Young Persons, Bill stipulated that "if. . . proved that at the time of the commission of the offence [gross indecency], the offender was to his knowledge suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form, or that he . . . had reason to suspect that he was so suffering, the court may . . . sentence him to be kept in penal servitude for five years, or any shorter term not less than three years."
27. Departmental Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Young Persons in Scotland, transcripts of evidence, NAS, ED 11/446, 447.
28. Report of Departmental Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Young Persons in Scotland, P.P., 1926 (Cmd. 2592) XV, 29-30, 32.
29. Under the common law of Scotland, sexual intercourse with a girl under twelve constituted rape, while an attempt to have sexual intercourse, though unsuccessful, constituted the crime of attempt to ravish. An act of indecency short of intercourse or attempted intercourse could be indicted as indecent assault and/or lewd and libidinous practices. Previous convictions for offenses of a similar nature, the communication of venereal disease, and the relation in which the offender stood to the victim, could be libeled as an aggravation. In addition, in Scotland, the practical effect of Section 4 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885 was to render unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl between the ages of twelve and thirteen an offense equivalent to rape, punishable by penal servitude (Notes by Advocate Deputy on Existing Law and Practice in Scotland, 1925, NAS, ED 11/447).
30. Judiciary Reports, Irvine, vol. 3 1858-60, 310, Case of James Mack.
31. Glasgow Herald, 28 February 1912.
32. Thirty victims were involved, all girls, varying in age from three to eleven, with an average age of about eight years.
33. Medical testimony to the communication of VD was often crucial in sexual assault cases, in which corroborative evidence was frequently lacking or withheld.
34. Crowther and White, 2-3, 44. For a comparative perspective, see S. Robertson, "Signs, Marks, and Private Parts: Doctors, Legal Discourses, and Evidence of Rape in the United States, 1823-1930," Journal of the History of Sexuality 8 (1998): 345-88.
35. Crowther and White, 3-4, 7-8, 26.
36. For a general discussion of these issues, see R. Smith and B. Wynne, eds., Expert Evidence: Interpreting Science in the Law (London, 1989).
37. Sexual offenses against children were primarily perceived and debated in terms of abuse against "young girls." According to Louise Jackson, "[T]he reason for the invisibility of boys . . . lies in the emergence of the issue from the social purity and rescue societies' preoccupation with 'fallen' women and young female prostitutes" (L. A. Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse in Victorian England [London, 2000], 5). All the High Court cases researched for this article involved adult male assaults on young girls. There were instances of women being indicted for communicating VD to young boys as a consequence of lewd, indecent, and libidinous practices, but they were extremely rare (Glaister and Glaister, 530).
38. See especially, Departmental Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Young Persons in Scotland, evidence of P. Duncan, policewoman, City of Glasgow Police, and Detective Lt. A. J. Sangster, Edinburgh City Police, NAS ED 11/447.
39. For an exhaustive analysis of such denial prior to 1900, see K. J. Taylor, "Venereal Disease in Nineteenth-Century Children," Journal of Psychohistory 12 (1985): 431-64.
40. See, for example, A. Swaine Taylor, Medical Jurisprudence (London, 1861), 692-96; F. Ogston, Lectures on Medical Jurisprudence (London, 1878), 91; W. A. Brend, A Handbook of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology (London, 1915), 99; H. A. Burridge, An Introduction to Forensic Medicine for Medical Students and Practitioners (London, 1924), 262. John Glaister's texts also highlighted the role of "natural" causes in producing such discharges (uncleanliness, scratching with dirty fingers, local irritation such as threadworms in rectum, cold, etc.) and the dangers of misdiagnosis "by a careless examiner for gonorrhoea." See Glaister, 329; Glaister and Glaister, 530-31. For similar views in English texts, see Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 75-76.
41. See, for example, A. Swaine Taylor, Medical Jurisprudence (London, 1861), 692-96; F. Ogston, Lectures on Medical Jurisprudence (London, 1878), 91; W. A. Brend, A Handbook of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology (London, 1915), 99; H. A. Burridge, An Introduction to Forensic Medicine for Medical Students and Practitioners (London, 1924), 262. John Glaister's texts also highlighted the role of "natural" causes in producing such discharges (uncleanliness, scratching with dirty fingers, local irritation such as threadworms in rectum, cold, etc.) and the dangers of misdiagnosis "by a careless examiner for gonorrhoea." See Glaister, 329; Glaister and Glaister, 530-31. For similar views in English texts, see Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 75-76.
42. See, for example, A. Swaine Taylor, Medical Jurisprudence (London, 1861), 692-96; F. Ogston, Lectures on Medical Jurisprudence (London, 1878), 91; W. A. Brend, A Handbook of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology (London, 1915), 99; H. A. Burridge, An Introduction to Forensic Medicine for Medical Students and Practitioners (London, 1924), 262. John Glaister's texts also highlighted the role of "natural" causes in producing such discharges (uncleanliness, scratching with dirty fingers, local irritation such as threadworms in rectum, cold, etc.) and the dangers of misdiagnosis "by a careless examiner for gonorrhoea." See Glaister, 329; Glaister and Glaister, 530-31. For similar views in English texts, see Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 75-76.
43. See, for example, A. Swaine Taylor, Medical Jurisprudence (London, 1861), 692-96; F. Ogston, Lectures on Medical Jurisprudence (London, 1878), 91; W. A. Brend, A Handbook of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology (London, 1915), 99; H. A. Burridge, An Introduction to Forensic Medicine for Medical Students and Practitioners (London, 1924), 262. John Glaister's texts also highlighted the role of "natural" causes in producing such discharges (uncleanliness, scratching with dirty fingers, local irritation such as threadworms in rectum, cold, etc.) and the dangers of misdiagnosis "by a careless examiner for gonorrhoea." See Glaister, 329; Glaister and Glaister, 530-31. For similar views in English texts, see Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 75-76.
44. See, for example, A. Swaine Taylor, Medical Jurisprudence (London, 1861), 692-96; F. Ogston, Lectures on Medical Jurisprudence (London, 1878), 91; W. A. Brend, A Handbook of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology (London, 1915), 99; H. A. Burridge, An Introduction to Forensic Medicine for Medical Students and Practitioners (London, 1924), 262. John Glaister's texts also highlighted the role of "natural" causes in producing such discharges (uncleanliness, scratching with dirty fingers, local irritation such as threadworms in rectum, cold, etc.) and the dangers of misdiagnosis "by a careless examiner for gonorrhoea." See Glaister, 329; Glaister and Glaister, 530-31. For similar views in English texts, see Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 75-76.
45. See, for example, A. Swaine Taylor, Medical Jurisprudence (London, 1861), 692-96; F. Ogston, Lectures on Medical Jurisprudence (London, 1878), 91; W. A. Brend, A Handbook of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology (London, 1915), 99; H. A. Burridge, An Introduction to Forensic Medicine for Medical Students and Practitioners (London, 1924), 262. John Glaister's texts also highlighted the role of "natural" causes in producing such discharges (uncleanliness, scratching with dirty fingers, local irritation such as threadworms in rectum, cold, etc.) and the dangers of misdiagnosis "by a careless examiner for gonorrhoea." See Glaister, 329; Glaister and Glaister, 530-31. For similar views in English texts, see Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 75-76.
46. Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 73, 87.
47. High Court Precognitions, NAS, AD 15/13/100.
48. High Court Precognitions, NAS, AD 15/13/70.
49. High Court Precognitions, NAS, AD 15/21/71.
50. High Court Precognitions, NAS, AD 15/17/92.
51. Taylor, "Venereal Disease," 442, 447, 450-53.
52. Smart, "Child Sexual Abuse," 57-60.
53. Edinburgh Public Health Department [EPHD] Annual Report (1924), 56.
54. Ibid. (1925), 55.
55. Ibid. (1936), 84.
56. Burridge, 262; Departmental Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Young Persons in Scotland, précis of evidence of David Watson, Lecturer in Venereology, University of Glasgow, and Surgeon to Glasgow Lock Hospital, NAS, ED 11/447.
57. High Court Precognitions, NAS AD 15/13/100.
58. High Court Precognitions, NAS AD 15/14/109.
59. For details, see R. Davidson, "'A Scourge to be Firmly Gripped': The Campaign for VD Controls in Interwar Scotland," Social History of Medicine 6 (1993): 213-35.
60. R. Davidson, Dangerous Liaisons: A Social History of Venereal Disease in Twentieth-Century Scotland (Amsterdam/Atlanta, 2000), ch. 3.
61. For earlier examples of such problems, see Robertson, 383; Spongberg, 111.
62. See, for example, High Court Precognitions, NAS, AD 15/10/126.
63. High Court Precognitions, NAS, AD 15/21/71.
64. A plea of "not guilty" was recorded in 54 percent of these cases.
65. See especially, Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 6-7, 58.
66. Jackson attributes the problematic position of the sexually abused girl in late nineteenth-and early-twentieth-century society to "a Christian moral economy, promoted by the middle classes" that constituted her as both "victim" and "threat" in need not only of protection but also retraining and reform. Child Sexual Abuse, 6-7, 53-58. As in English child-assault cases (Child Sexual Abuse, ch. 5; L. Jackson, "The Child's Word in Court: Cases of Sexual Abuse in London, 1870-1914," in Gender and Crime in Modern Europe, ed. M. L. Arnot and C. Usborne (London, 1999), 222-37; S. D'Cruze, Crimes of Outrage: Sex, Violence and Victorian Working Women [London, 1998], 148), a good deal of the medical evidence submitted in early-twentieth-century Scottish cases involving VD focused on details (e.g., the degree of defloration) pertinent not only to the severity of the charge but also to the sexual reputation of the complainant. In addition, precognition statements by the victims of assault were invariably structured by investigating officers to address issues of previous sexual experience.
67. Jackson attributes the problematic position of the sexually abused girl in late nineteenth-and early-twentieth-century society to "a Christian moral economy, promoted by the middle classes" that constituted her as both "victim" and "threat" in need not only of protection but also retraining and reform. Child Sexual Abuse, 6-7, 53-58. As in English child-assault cases (Child Sexual Abuse, ch. 5; L. Jackson, "The Child's Word in Court: Cases of Sexual Abuse in London, 1870-1914," in Gender and Crime in Modern Europe, ed. M. L. Arnot and C. Usborne (London, 1999), 222-37; S. D'Cruze, Crimes of Outrage: Sex, Violence and Victorian Working Women [London, 1998], 148), a good deal of the medical evidence submitted in early-twentieth-century Scottish cases involving VD focused on details (e.g., the degree of defloration) pertinent not only to the severity of the charge but also to the sexual reputation of the complainant. In addition, precognition statements by the victims of assault were invariably structured by investigating officers to address issues of previous sexual experience.
68. Jackson attributes the problematic position of the sexually abused girl in late nineteenth-and early-twentieth-century society to "a Christian moral economy, promoted by the middle classes" that constituted her as both "victim" and "threat" in need not only of protection but also retraining and reform. Child Sexual Abuse, 6-7, 53-58. As in English child-assault cases (Child Sexual Abuse, ch. 5; L. Jackson, "The Child's Word in Court: Cases of Sexual Abuse in London, 1870-1914," in Gender and Crime in Modern Europe, ed. M. L. Arnot and C. Usborne (London, 1999), 222-37; S. D'Cruze, Crimes of Outrage: Sex, Violence and Victorian Working Women [London, 1998], 148), a good deal of the medical evidence submitted in early-twentieth-century Scottish cases involving VD focused on details (e.g., the degree of defloration) pertinent not only to the severity of the charge but also to the sexual reputation of the complainant. In addition, precognition statements by the victims of assault were invariably structured by investigating officers to address issues of previous sexual experience.
69. Jackson attributes the problematic position of the sexually abused girl in late nineteenth-and early-twentieth-century society to "a Christian moral economy, promoted by the middle classes" that constituted her as both "victim" and "threat" in need not only of protection but also retraining and reform. Child Sexual Abuse, 6-7, 53-58. As in English child-assault cases (Child Sexual Abuse, ch. 5; L. Jackson, "The Child's Word in Court: Cases of Sexual Abuse in London, 1870-1914," in Gender and Crime in Modern Europe, ed. M. L. Arnot and C. Usborne (London, 1999), 222-37; S. D'Cruze, Crimes of Outrage: Sex, Violence and Victorian Working Women [London, 1998], 148), a good deal of the medical evidence submitted in early-twentieth-century Scottish cases involving VD focused on details (e.g., the degree of defloration) pertinent not only to the severity of the charge but also to the sexual reputation of the complainant. In addition, precognition statements by the victims of assault were invariably structured by investigating officers to address issues of previous sexual experience.
70. Smart, "A History of Ambivalence and Conflict," 404. Different readings of court evidence could reinforce this "trick." Thus, some 60 percent of High Court cases involving the communication of VD revealed some form of bribery - sums of money, ice cream, chips, etc. However, this evidence was often used to legitimate contemporary fears of young girls abusing their sexuality by "offering themselves to men for pennies." See, for example, Departmental Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Young Persons in Scotland, précis of evidence of J. J. Hunter, Secretary of the National Vigilance Association of Scotland, NAS, ED 11/447.
71. Ibid., transcript of evidence.
72. Ibid., transcript of evidence.
73. Report of Departmental Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Young Persons in Scotland, P.P., 1926 (Cmd. 2592) XV, 35, 50.
74. Such evidence resonates with anthropological accounts of "pollution behavior" as a "reaction which condemns any object or idea [in this instance, either the sexually abused child or more specifically her symptoms of sexual violation and disease, including precocious discharges] likely to confuse or contradict cherished classifications" (M. Douglas, Purity and Danger: An Analysis of the Concepts of Pollution and Taboo [London, 1984 ed.], 36). See also, D'Cruze, 43, 141. For similar views in England in the mid-1920s, see Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 64-65.
75. Such evidence resonates with anthropological accounts of "pollution behavior" as a "reaction which condemns any object or idea [in this instance, either the sexually abused child or more specifically her symptoms of sexual violation and disease, including precocious discharges] likely to confuse or contradict cherished classifications" (M. Douglas, Purity and Danger: An Analysis of the Concepts of Pollution and Taboo [London, 1984 ed.], 36). See also, D'Cruze, 43, 141. For similar views in England in the mid-1920s, see Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 64-65.
76. Such evidence resonates with anthropological accounts of "pollution behavior" as a "reaction which condemns any object or idea [in this instance, either the sexually abused child or more specifically her symptoms of sexual violation and disease, including precocious discharges] likely to confuse or contradict cherished classifications" (M. Douglas, Purity and Danger: An Analysis of the Concepts of Pollution and Taboo [London, 1984 ed.], 36). See also, D'Cruze, 43, 141. For similar views in England in the mid-1920s, see Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 64-65.
77. For a general discussion of the sexual ideologies underpinning these strategies and of the powers invested in the police and local authorities under the Criminal Law Amendment Act (1885 , the Industrial Schools Acts (1866, 1880), and the Children Act (1908), see especially, Mahood, Policing Gender, Class and Family, ch. 3; Abrams, ch. 6; Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, ch. 7.
78. For a general discussion of the sexual ideologies underpinning these strategies and of the powers invested in the police and local authorities under the Criminal Law Amendment Act (1885 , the Industrial Schools Acts (1866, 1880), and the Children Act (1908), see especially, Mahood, Policing Gender, Class and Family, ch. 3; Abrams, ch. 6; Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, ch. 7.
79. Mahood, 136; Abrams, 228.
80. Departmental Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Young Persons in Scotland, transcripts of evidence, NAS, ED 11/447.
81. Minutes of Evidence to Joint Select Committee on Criminal Law Amendment Bill and Sexual Offences Bill, P.P., 1918 (142) III, qq. 2660, 2781-4, evidence of Millar Craig.
82. Report of Departmental Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Young Persons in Scotland, P.P., 1926 (Cmd. 2592) XV, 54.
83. Departmental Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Young Persons in Scotland, written submission of Scottish Board of Health, 25 May 1925, NAS, ED 11/ 447. Concerns over medical confidentiality also explain in part the not infrequent reluctance of clinicians to furnish evidence for court proceedings. See, for example, High Court Precognitions, NAS, AD 15/21/8.
84. Court Processes, NAS, JC 26/1627.
85. High Court Precognitions, NAS, AD 15/332.
86. Thus, in the case against William C., heard in Inverness High Court in 1918, the statement of the victim's sister that "I am quite sure that Carr did not say anything to me about getting rid of his disease by having connection with my sister" is clearly a response to targeted questioning (High Court Precognitions, NAS, AD 15/18/64).
87. Smart, "Child Sexual Abuse," 68.
88. Abrams, 226-27. See also Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 32; L. Jackson, "Family, Community and Child Sexual Abuse," in Childhood in Question: Children, Parents and the State, ed. A. Fletcher and S. Hussey (Manchester, 1999), 136.
89. Abrams, 226-27. See also Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 32; L. Jackson, "Family, Community and Child Sexual Abuse," in Childhood in Question: Children, Parents and the State, ed. A. Fletcher and S. Hussey (Manchester, 1999), 136.
90. Abrams, 226-27. See also Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 32; L. Jackson, "Family, Community and Child Sexual Abuse," in Childhood in Question: Children, Parents and the State, ed. A. Fletcher and S. Hussey (Manchester, 1999), 136.
91. Departmental Committee on Sexual Offences against Children and Young Persons in Scotland, evidence from Helen Blair, Policewoman, NAS, ED 11/447.
92. Ibid., transcripts of evidence.
93. In comparison, Jackson found a much lower proportion of cases involving family offenders in her sample of child sexual assault cases in Middlesex and Yorkshire for the period 1830-1910: 12 percent and 16 percent, respectively. Table 1 more closely resembles estimates of the proportion of late-twentieth-century child sexual abuse perpetrated within the family. See Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 43-45, 167.
94. High Court Precognitions, NAS, AD 15/10/126.
95. High Court Precognitions, NAS, AD 15/10/125, AD 15/17/70. For the racial aspects of social politics surrounding VD in early-twentieth-century Scotland, see Davidson, Dangerous Liaisons, ch. 2.
96. Jackson, Child Sexual Abuse, 10.