Rebecca Jarrett

Rebecca Jarrett (1846–1928)[1] was a former English prostitute and procuress who, with reformer and newspaper editor William Thomas Stead, fought against child prostitution and white slavery during the late 19th century.

Rebecca Jarrett
Born1846
London, England
Died1928(1928-00-00) (aged 81–82)
NationalityEnglish
Occupation(s)Prostitute, brothel-keeper, activist
Known forEliza Armstrong Case

Biography

Jarrett was the youngest of seven children. Her father deserted the family and she was raised by her alcoholic mother,[1] who prostituted her in London at the age of 12[2] (then the age of consent).[3] Child prostitution was common at the time. Virgins especially commanded a higher price, at least partly due to the lower risk of catching an STI at a time when antibiotics were not yet available.[1]

As an adult she supported herself through prostitution and later became a brothel-keeper, procuring girls and women to work for her. She tried to leave the world of prostitution several times, but was later lured back into the lifestyle while living in London.[4] At age 36,[4] by now an alcoholic and gravely ill, Jarrett was taken in by Florence Booth of the London Salvation Army.[1] Jarrett prayed to "be a good woman and truly break away from the drink".[5]

Winchester

Jarrett was sent to Josephine Butler's "House of Rest" in Winchester[6] in 1885 where she became involved in rescue work. With her knowledge of prostitution and brothels, she went into dangerous areas and persuaded women and girls to come with her to Winchester where she helped care for them.[7] Boys were also rescued and cared for at Winchester.[8] Jarrett also sought out young women in Portsmouth public houses.[5]

Eliza Armstrong Case
Main articles: Eliza Armstrong Case and The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon

In June 1885, Bramwell Booth took Jarrett to meet W.T Stead.[5] She helped Stead in obtaining a 13-year-old Eliza Armstrong from her mother, making sure the mother was well aware of their supposed 'purposes', and had her taken to a local midwife before being sent to a London brothel.[9][10]

Posing as a rich businessman, Stead visited the brothel and had the girl drugged before she was brought to him (from where he had the girl taken to a Salvation Army home in France). Following a series of articles published by Stead in the Pall Mall Gazette, entitled The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon, which received an immediate public outcry resulting in the beginnings of the Social purity movement as rallies were held across the country and a petition sent to the House of Commons. However, despite public support behind them, both she and Stead were arrested on charges of abduction and indecent assault (possibly arranged by George Cavendish-Bentinck, a politician implicated in the sexual trafficking of boys in the Cleveland Street Scandal.[11]) and Jarrett was imprisoned for six months.[7][12]

After her release from Millbank Prison, she continued with her rescue work with the Salvation Army.[13][14] Initially she returned to Winchester, but later returned to Florence Booth's care at 259 Mare Street, Hackney, where she remained until her death in early 1928.[15]

References
  1. Robinson 2011, p. 237.
  2. Neal 2006, p. 34.
  3. Robertson, Stephen. "Age of Consent Laws (Teaching Module)". Children & Youth in History. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  4. Barry 1996, p. 106.
  5. Walker 2001, p. 169.
  6. Neal 2006, p. 189.
  7. Barry 1996, pp. 106–107.
  8. Eckley 2007, p. 59.
  9. Eckley 2007, pp. 50–54.
  10. Barry 1996, p. 107.
  11. Hyde, H. Montgomery The Cleveland Street Scandal, W.H. Allen, London 1976, p236, n1
  12. Walker 2001, pp. 169–170.
  13. Walker 2001, p. 170.
  14. Eckley 2007, p. 92.
  15. "Passing of Rebecca Jarrett". The War Cry. 10 March 1928. Retrieved 18 November 2019 – via The W.T. Stead Resource Site.

Bibliography
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