Josephine Butler 		December 30
Worker among Women
Josephine Grey was born into an English middle class family, whose liberal social and political convictions were firmly grounded in their Christian faith. From her birth in Milfield, Northumberland, in 1828 she could not help but be aware of her father’s views on the equality of all humanity before God. Her father was a canon of Winchester. In later years she attributed her faith in a loving and merciful God, her hatred of sectarianism and her egalitarianism, as well as her conviction that social action is a necessary manifestation of religious belief, to the teaching of her parents. Habits of prayer sustained her throughout her life, modelled on Catherine of Siena, whose life she published in 1878.
Josephine’s marriage to George Butler in 1852 eventually took her to Liverpool. Here she became involved in the pioneering work of the North of England Council for Promoting Higher Education for Women. From 1867 to 1873 she was the council’s president. The tragic death of her daughter in 1863 left her with a desperate need to involve herself with others. “I only know that my heart ached night and day, and that the only solace possible would seem to be to find other hearts which ached night and day, and with more reason than mine.” She became aware of the plight of destitute women who were given degrading tasks in the workhouses of Liverpool in return for a night’s lodging. When she realised that many of these women had been forced into prostitution, and that once they became infected with venereal diseases they were turned out into the streets to die, she offered the shelter of her home and set about establishing refuges.
The need to grapple with the social conditions which victimised these women became imperative. Her criticism of the blatant hypocrisy of the sexual morality of the day had initially been aroused by an early reading of Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel, Ruth, which dealt with the sexual exploitation of a young girl. Her involvement with two national reform campaigns was almost inevitable.
The first campaign concerned the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts of the 1860s. Under the terms of the Acts, any woman suspected of being a prostitute could be harassed by the police and forcibly submitted to a medical examination. A vigorous campaign objecting to the Acts’ violation of civil rights and the countenancing of sexual double standards was launched. In one year alone Josephine Butler travelled over four thousand miles and spoke to ninety-nine public meetings. A parliamentary petition was presented, and she was also invited to appear before a Royal Commission. The notorious Acts were finally repealed in 1886.
Josephine Butler’s other great campaign concerned the promotion of legislation to eradicate organised prostitution and the sale of young girls for use in brothels. A celebrated procurement took place in 1885. As a result of newspaper publicity the age of consent was raised from twelve to sixteen, and severe penalties were imposed on those convicted of trafficking in girls and young women. She founded the Association for Moral and Social Hygiene (later called the Josephine Butler Society) and the International Abolitionist Federation. Josephine Butler died in 1906, knowing that the fight against the legalised degradation of women had been won.
For Liturgical Use
Josephine Butler was born in Northumberland in 1828. From her father she inherited her conviction that social action is a necessary manifestation of religious belief. She conducted a vigorous campaign against the sexual exploitation of women and girls. She fought to have legislation abolished which allowed the forcible medical examination of women suspected of prostitution, but ignored the men. She opposed the trafficking in young girls for use in brothels, and she campaigned for the age of consent to be raised. In all these in England she was successful. She died in 1906.
Sentence
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a tower of strength in time of trouble.		
				Psalm 9:9
Collects
God of compassion and tenderness,
you call us in Christ to care for the powerless,
the poor and the exploited;
grant that, after Josephine Butler’s example,
we may have compassion and zeal
to see justice done and want relieved,
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Redeemer.

Jesus, you cared for women;
you cared for Josephine’s work with prostitutes,
and her campaign against white slavery;
may we have her willingness
to help the helpless and abused.
Psalms	12	119:33-40
Readings
Hosea 3		Fallen Israel restored
Colossians 1:9-12		Your lives will produce good news
Luke 10:25-37		Who is my neighbour?
Post Communion Sentence
Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to each other.
				Zechariah 7:9