Other women of bad repute

The feminine condition and the mentality of the age associated with the economic tightness of less well-off social classes gave a new impetus to what became known as "The Great Social Evil": prostitution.

As we have seen before, Henry Mayhew had divided into three categories the prostitutes who operated in London towards the end of the 19th century.

Unfortunately, however, there were also other forms of prostitution. For this reason, Mayew introduced a fourth category: women who work in brothels.

These women can best be described as "sex slaves", as they were essentially held captive in these places of dissoluteness. The clients went to these homes of tolerance, which often went out and paid Madam for the services of her girls. The prostitutes received only a small share of the money collected for their performance. She was not oblivious to leaving the brothel except for occasional walks during which they were followed and watched by special controllers to avoid escaping or worse working on their own.

We should not forget about those women who are not considered by the previous classifications and followed the military personnel: the Sailor Wives and the Girls of the Soldiers.

The Sailors Wives were women who joined the sailors when they arrived in the harbour. Sailors usually gave these girls all their money. Women should have simply been loyal to the sailor while he was in the harbour, and centenarians his money to avoid spending them all right away. Obviously, the girl did a little bit of ridge to earn something. When the sailor then sailed for a new trip (which often took years), the woman sought another sailor. In this way, the girl had more "husbands" going around the world and coming back to her when they took the port. These women were not bad and usually were very attentive to the needs of their men. They were just like wives, but with different husbands.

Many of them did it more for the company than for money. Money was not much but it could be useful in difficult times. These girls could become indigent if the flow of sailors in the harbour had stopped for some reason. Not all sailors were military personnel, some could be crew members of merchant ships. When the economy went bad and the goods did not flow, the first ones to be affected were these women.

The Girls of the Soldiers were all another story. These were usually tied to a military unit, getting intimate with one of the soldiers and then being shared in a barracks whenever a military man was tired of her. These women seem more interested in lifestyle as they are more interested in the soldiers than the little money they usually have.

These women earned much more money by doing laundry and tailoring jobs for the other barracks. They often followed a regiment for years when it was at home. If they were still young and attractive, when the regiment got a job overseas, they could look for a new unit to join and continue with this lifestyle.

The Military, though, often had other women in the city. Free soldiers often went to brothels, playhouses and prostitutes. And a squatted soldier looks for the best deal for that little he has. There were so prostitutes who took care of the soldiers on leave. These women were often itinerant syphilis carriers who, despite getting proper remuneration, were lying with three or more soldiers per night.

As Mayhew argued:

These women are more dangerous to the health of His Majesty's soldiers, than all the weapons of His Majesty's enemies.

Demand created the offer. And the most deprived and needy supplied the goods. The Great Social Evil crossed all the layers and social divisions.