The Spinster and Her Enemies - Feminish

‘HENPECKING’
consideration. The necessity for incest legislation was seen by
the NVA to be in the same category as the need for legislation
to outlaw the seduction of young girls by those in positions of
authority over them, such as employers. Mrs Fawcett, who ran
the Rescue and Preventive sub-committee, had precisely this
approach. She stated that incest was ‘by no means extremely
uncommon’ but if a girl was over 16 so that no other statutes
applied, nothing could be done whilst incest was not an offence.
As an explanation of the absence of legislation of the subject,
she placed incest into the context of the general ‘subjection of
women’:
Now this may very probably be a survival of the old evil
doctrine of the subjection of women and the absolute
supremacy of the head of the family over all members of
it…. In all nations of progressive civilisation the history of
their progress has consisted in the gradual emancipation of
sons, servants, daughters and wives from their former
subjection. 13
The emancipation of sons and servants was accomplished, she
considered, but not that of women. She said she was in favour
of parental authority but such authority entailed obligations,
and when a father towards a child, a guardian towards a
ward, a master towards a servant, is guilty of using the
position of authority the law gives him to induce the child or
servant to commit immoral actions, the offence ought to be
recognised and punished as having a special degree of
gravity. 14
One of her recommendations for the revision of the criminal
law was therefore as follows: ‘To provide legal punishment for
incest, and as a corollary to this, to visit with special severity
all abuse of the authority which the law vests with the father,
guardian or employer.’ 15
In 1895 the NVA had a draft bill for which they were seeking
a sponsor in Parliament. The bill dealt not merely with incest
but with several of the other amendments which the NVA sought
in the criminal law. Despite having ‘received petitions from all
parts of the country, containing thousands of signatures in its
favour’, the NVA was unable to find a sponsor during 1895. 16
In 1896 Mr H.J.Wilson MP agreed to take charge of the Bill.
The Criminal Law Amendment Bill was blocked many times
in Parliament in 1896, but the incest clause was not as strongly
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