Abolitionism (prostitution)

International Abolitionist Federation

Attendees at an IAF Conference in Geneva, c. 1900
Formation	1875
Founder	Josephine Butler
Purpose	Abolition of regulated prostitution
Formerly called	British, Continental and General Federation for the Abolition of the Government Regulation of Vice

The International Abolitionist Federation (IAF; French: Fédération abolitioniste internationale), founded in Liverpool in 1875, aimed to abolish state regulation of prostitution and fought the international traffic in women in prostitution. It was originally called the British and Continental Federation for the Abolition of Prostitution.

The federation was active in Europe, the Americas, and the European colonies and mandated territories. It felt that state regulations encouraged prostitution while having the effect of enslaving women in prostitution. It felt that the solution lay in moral education, empowerment of women through the right to acquire skills and work, and marriage. The federation experienced opposition from the authorities in Europe and the colonies, who were unwilling to relinquish control, and from reformers who wanted to suppress traffic of women but were less concerned with their welfare. After World War I (1914–18), the IAF was involved in discussions about League of Nations conventions on the issues, and after World War II (1939–45), about United Nations conventions. In later years, the main focus was on eliminating unjust regulations that violated women's rights.

Regulation of prostitution in the 19th century typically consisted of policing, brothel licenses, red light districts, registration and forced medical examination of women in prostitution, and forced hospitalization of women in prostitution suffering from sexually transmitted diseases. Abuses included police corruption, registration of underage girls, forced registration of vulnerable women, debt bondage and other ways in which women in brothels were exploited, as well as regulations and other practices that prevented women from leaving prostitution. In the colonies and mandated territories, the regulations were often related to military conquest and control.

The English feminist Josephine Butler (1828–1906), who came from a family involved in the abolition of slavery, believed that forced vaginal examination of women suspected of prostitution violated their basic legal rights. She argued that women lacked sexual autonomy because they were excluded from higher education, professional training, and paid employment and therefore had to choose between marriage or prostitution. Either way, their condition was no different from that of a slave. Butler published many articles on the subject. She toured Europe in 1874 and 1875 to raise support for an international abolitionist movement. In Italy she was able to talk with Giuseppe Mazzini and Giuseppe Garibaldi.