What Aid? Certainly Not “Women’s Aid”: Social Work and Abused Wives in Scotland, c1850-1950

Annmarie Hughes, University of Glasgow

 

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 Summary

–          Victorian era: politicians would say low levels of divorce, domestic abuse and family breakdown

• Far from reality
• Rural areas had no. of single parent families comparable or higher than today
  • Victims of domestic abuse
• Single parents struggled to survive
  • Social services only got involved if a woman was not supported (aliment)
  • Even with a legal separation still a dependent of the husband

–          Agenda

• Created more harm
• Created more family breakdown

–          Content

• 1992-1996 Experiences at marriage between the wars in Scotland
  • No help, no shelters, no aid, little support available from family members
• 3-3,500 men prosecuted for an assault by a husband on a wife
• 1900, 5,000 husbands prosecuted
  • Still masks the real figures
• Scottish press portrayed women as the provokers
  • Bad wives, bad reputations
• Women also relevant for fear of retaliation
  • Insulted in court
  • Stalked by husband; most men unlikely to receive a custodial sentence
  • Arrested with breach of the peace not assault
• Could not pay by installment of fine so men had to go to jail unable to pay
• Installment of fine instituted after WWII
  • Fines were burdens on wives
    • Puts women off
• Probation sentence introduced in early 20^th c.
• Women could always get a legal separation on the ground of cruelty
  • But majority separated informally or lived with another man due to strict cruelty clauses
    • Sustained, life threatening, cumulative
    • Recognised mental abuse and economic harm and third party harm and sexual abuse (but not rape (1980)
• Criminal Evidence Act allowed wives to be witnesses in a Civil Court
• Clive argues cost of divorce not as expensive in Scotland but a woman would need at least £10 to initiate a legal separation (usually £50-100)
  • Even more when contested
• Some parishes just refused to help women
  • Did not want to break up the family

–          20^th Century

• 1907 Sheriff Court Act
  • Allowed women to go to any court to get a separation à led to an increase in number of women seeking separation orders (majority cruelty cases)
• Call for establishment of family courts
  • Family quarrels
  • Not to undermine institution of marriage
• Societies to assist families
  • Parish councils and SPCC (1880’s)
    • Assistance for deserted women (including husbands who drank)
  • SPCC—did not want to break up the home but prevent families from harming the community
    • Wanted to reunite families
      • Pledge signing
  • Churches also involved in family problems
    • Also forced families to reconcile as the only way they would assist
    • Dealt mostly with economic abuse
      • 19^th century equivalent of child support agency (20^th c)
      • Many women were experiencing poverty which effected the children and then agencies got involved, but still hoped for reconciliation
      • Deserted, abused women were seen as burdens on the society and their children were thought to become prostitutes and vagabonds
  • These organizations would not support divorce and thought working-class women should expect violence in their marriage
• No divorce led to an increase in one-parent families
  • Lack of financial support led to more family breakdown