Fears of unrestrained vice: Venereal disease and the First World War

The Venereal Disease Act of May 1917 prohibited treatment of VD by unqualified persons. During the war, the spread of disease was crippling the British armed forces, with women’s sexuality being increasingly policed at home.

Find out how VD was prevented and treated during the war - as well as society’s changing attitudes towards disease and sexual practice - using original documents from our collection.