I chose to learn about the Age of Consent/Children as Victims in Lee Jackson’s “Victorian Dictionary”. One letter was written in “The Times” on November 29, 1849, in which the author, “A Man” describes an appalling incident in which a little girl was pursued by a fifty year old man and the police officer, before finally pursuing the incident first claimed “he had no right to interfere”. It was shocking to me that the authorities would be so blazé, especially considering the rigid social propriety. Towards the end of the letter, the man goes on to state that the policeman “was familiar with occurrences like this”. Clearly this is a major unaddressed issue, right?
I continued onto the article concerning police duties in 1903, in which the process of rape prosecution was discussed.. There were many astounding facts within’ the reports, though I think there was definitely more that I wasn’t able to grasp because of the language and wording of the document. In the case of a rape, the attacker could only be prosecuted “within three months of the commission of the offense”. There also required additional evidence not including the original “defilement or attempted defilement of a girl under thirteen years of age” (Women and Children). Woman needed more proof than their own bodies. When you also consider the information in the Virginity section concerning the number of girls “fallen at, or under, the age of sixteen” to their own family members due to financial struggle, resorting to “juvenile prostitution” is astounding (Sherwell).
The articles opened my eyes to the overwhelming lingering lack of action our species has taken concerning such a disgusting act. Considering the amount of incest revealed in “Life in West London: A Study and a Contrast”, rape was a very prevalent situation in the young women of the Victorian era. I was also very surprised at the lack of propriety concerning this issue, especially after learning of all the social retaliation due to indecent decisions concerning virtue, like Lydia’s sham marriage with Wickham. These articles made me realize Pride and Prejudice definitely showed a nicer perspective of society from the era.
Works Cited
Childs, H. “Women and Children.” ‘Police Duty’ Catechism and Reports. Victorian London Dictionary. Web. 14 February 2016.
http://www.victorianlondon.org/publications3/catechism.htm#WOMEN
“Sex – Age of Consent / Children as victims – attitudes towards.” The Times. Victorian London Dictionary. Web. 14 February 2016.
http://www.victorianlondon.org/sex/childrenvictims.htm
Sherwell, Arthur. “Life in West London: A Study and a Contrast.” Victorian London Dictionary. Web. 14 February 2016.
http://www.victorianlondon.org/publications/westlondon-3.htm#firstsex
I browsed through some of the articles you read while choosing which topic I was going to cover and I was surprised at first as well. But then the more I thought about the topic, the less surprised I was. Women did not have any rights in their society and I think that a woman would still be considered fallen even if she was forced. I think Lydia’s situation in the novel only strengthens the fact that an issue like this would be ignored.