Josephine Butler 1828-1928

Photographic postcard of a portrait of Josephine Butler drawn by George Richmond which was then in the possession of the Association for Moral and Social Hygiene. Josephine Butler was a social reformer and women’s activist. She signed the petition in favour of women's suffrage which John Stuart Mill presented to parliament in 1866. Butler also joined the Married Women's Property Committee in 1868, which sought to give married women the right to own property. Both a Christian and a liberal feminist, she published many books and pamphlets in favour of improving women’s education and employment. In 1869 she became honorary secretary of the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts, which opposed legislation that discriminated against women with venereal diseases. Butler campaigned against state regulation of prostitution and against child prostitution.