HilsP 💙

Today the Southport Inquiry published its findings. I’m not talking about the agencies right now. I’m talking about his parents. Because somebody fucking has to. I’m a former detective. 21 yrs in the force, I know what I’m looking at🧵👇

Never before have I devoted two consecutive days to one Woman of the Day, but Josephine Butler, born 198 years ago yesterday in Milfield, Northumberland, is an honourable exception. Even this, my second post about her, doesn’t touch on her tireless campaigning for women’s suffrage and for better education for girls. Today is about the widespread scandal that confronted her when she was trying to extricate women from the steel jaws of steel rape. Child prostitution. In the 1870s and 1880s, there was a lucrative and lively trade to the Continent in the trafficking of British girls as young as 12 to European brothels. There was no point in appealing to the police over there. They were part of the problem. In fact, Josephine was instrumental in securing the removal from office of a Belgian chief of police. She filed a deposition and sent it to both the Procureur du Roi (Chief Prosecutor) and the British Home Secretary. As a result, the deputy police chief and twelve brothel owners complicit in a conspiracy of kidnapping, trafficking and child rape, were tried and imprisoned — but the practice still flourished. “Economics lie at the very root of practical morality." For ten years, Josephine had relentlessly campaigned for the age of consent to be raised from 13, to no avail. There were too many men far too keenly interested in young girls held in brothels — virgins attracted a special premium — for the lethargic government to act. It was time to go public. “We all feel now that the time is come when we must appeal to the judgement of the public, so as to bring the condemnation of public opinion to bear upon these men, seeing that our laws give us no hold whatever upon them, and are not likely to do, so long as our legislators continue to refuse us the small boon we ask.” Josephine enlisted the help of William Stead, influential crusading editor of the Pall Mall Gazette. Stead, whose own mother had campaigned against the Contagious Diseases Acts. He ran a series of highly controversial articles about child prostitution — an early form of investigative journalism — and to illustrate his point, purchased a 13 year old girl named Eliza Armstrong from her mother for £5 on 3 June 1885. Eliza was taken to a London brothel. chloroformed, examined by a midwife to confirm her virginity, examined by a doctor — I know, I know. It was all part of a staged demonstration — and spirited away to a safe foster home in France with the help of Florence Booth of the Salvation Army. The newspaper articles threw Victorians into a state of moral panic. They pulled no punches, none at all. Copies changed hands for twenty times their original value and the office was besieged by 10,000 members of the public. Public demand was so great that the Gazette's supply of paper ran out and had to be replenished with supplies from the rival Globe. On 16 July 1885, shortly after the articles appeared, Josephine capitalised on the public outrage by delivering a major speech at Exeter Hall in London, and calling once again for greater protection for young girls, and the raising of the age of consent. This helped to sustain public pressure on Parliament, which had little choice but to revisit a stalled bill. On 14 August 1885, Parliament bowed to pressure and passed the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885. It raised the age of consent for girls from 13 to 16; criminalised the procurement of girls for prostitution via threats, fraud, or drugs; outlawed the abduction of girls under 18 for carnal knowledge; strengthened measures against brothels; and allowed greater police and court intervention to protect minors. What happened to Stead? He was tried at the Old Bailey. Eliza’s father objected to the £5 being handed to his wife, when in law, both mother and daughter were HIS property. The judge and jury agreed and sentenced Stead to three months for abduction on technical grounds. And how about Eliza? She was provided with education and training in domestic service, and some years later, wrote to Stead to thank him for saving her from her certain fate. She was the inspiration for George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, by the way. Josephine turned her attention to the next big scandal: India, where a British Major-General had issued standing orders for local girls — some as young as 11 — to be kept in special accommodation near Army camps, examined regularly (steel rape again) and for local commanders to ensure “the provision of a sufficient number of women, [and] to take care that they are sufficiently attractive” for the comfort of soldiers. She compared the girls to slaves and raised such a stink about it that public outrage forced the House of Commons to pass a unanimous resolution repealing the legislation and order the Indian government to stop the practice. During the course of her activism, Josephine Butler wrote more than 90 books and pamphlets, travelled countless miles around Britain and the world, changed the way feminists and suffragists conducted future struggles, and brought into the political fray groups of people that had never been active before. That’s why she was hailed by Millicent Fawcett as "the most distinguished Englishwoman of the nineteenth century". I think it’s about time a statue of Josephine Butler adorned the empty plinth in Parliament Square, along with her inspiring quote: “God and one woman make a majority".

@SarahCholwill My parrot tulips escaped the squirrels' attention this year.

And more…

@MrFezz15 I seem to remember 'Save water, bath with a friend'. Not many bathrooms had showers in those days.

Who else survived the summer of '76 and lived to tell the tale? 🤣🤣🤣 #50years

@sappholives83 'They know I'm not like them.' And you know it too.

I respectfully submit that you should stop worrying about your ridiculous toe dysphoria and spend 15 seconds thinking about how it must feel to be a rape survivor alone in a bathroom with that sound coming from the next stall.

Johanna Quaas is a gymnast And over 100 years old

@_ConnieShaw @BrodieMitchell1 I bought 2 keffiyehs as souvenirs of a holiday in Egypt. Gave one to my mother. She thought it was a tea towel and used it as one for years.

Share this story far and wide. Non-Jewish Zionist @BrodieMitchell1 was made to vacate his university accommodation within 48 hours because he compared a keffiyeh to a "tea towel". Now, he faces criminal prosecution for the same comment. Meanwhile, the other student, who called him a "wannabe Jew", faces no punishment at all. I have met many cancelled students over the last year. This is the most shocking story I have ever heard.

Beautiful and historic !

@sprigwig @b8eak Evening shift on men's geriatric ward. New nurse queries why every patient is given a mug of Horlicks and a viagra tablet. Matron explains 'Horlicks helps them sleep. Viagra stops them rolling out of bed.' Very old joke from a very old ex-matron (not I!).

Indeed Horlicks is top tier but @b8eak insists on Ovaltine. 🤷🏼‍♀️☕️

@JeanHatchet The irony of standing as an 'Independent'.

Bastwell and Daisyfield Ward in Blackburn where a woman will stand for election FULLY COVERED UP with a husband already on council has a population 92.1% Muslim. This is not diversity. It is not freedom for women. It is entrenched oppression, and patriarchal dominance enforced by expansionist, extremist Islamists. None of what is seen here is good for women. Not even the woman who might get a council seat - she will still be a puppet of men - for how does a woman a man covers from head to foot object to ANYTHING on behalf of other women?

@Poppy_yyyyyyyy Can't stand them. Too gloopy. Transferred my allegiance to praline years ago.

What in the hell have they done to Cream Eggs? It was like eating PVA glue. I ate two just to be sure, but still.

@DreyfusJames The 'witch's hat' took a few teeth out too.

Proud to say this was my favourite in the playground back in the day… a few grazes, but god it was fun…

@NASA @Astro_Christina @astro_reid Brings to mind the Bette Midler song 'From a Distance'.

This view just hits different 🌍 @Astro_Christina and @astro_reid take a moment to look back at Earth as they continue deep into space toward the Moon.

Pysanka, the Ukrainian tradition and art of decorating eggs with wax and dye.

Afternoon everyone. Some delightful individual hacked my account and X have permanently suspended it, thanks a lot. I’ve made some good friends on here and want to catch up, so if this could be retweeted loads, I’d really appreciate it, thanks a lot 😊😊

@AndySaunders_1 google.com/url?sa=t&sourc…

Left - Apollo 17, 1972 Right - Artemis II, 2026 Two photographs taken by one of us, of all of us, over half a century apart. What's changed?

@jamesdavis6939 The consolidated club results used to also include the first male and first female times, but were missing last week. As every Parkrun course is different, first place times were a useful indication of 'difficulty'.

Reposting this as it’s upsetting the right people. Despite what the critics say, there are first finishers at parkrun. They are listed on the event history pages, and females must have the same opportunities as me to finish first, without cheating males stopping them.

@HeadWarriorTWM Anything that still has enough cocoa solids to qualify as chocolate!

Best chocolate bar. Snickers. Go

@dineen20dineen Used a more basic till in my Saturday job. Had to add up the bill and calculate the change due, all in my head. And in £sd. Always tot up before I pay to make sure I'm not overcharged!

Are you old enough to remember the shop cash register

Swifts spark joy….. thrilled that swifts have more airtime in #TheGuardian this week as they start their return journeys HOME. theguardian.com/environment/20…