Venereal Diseases in New Zealand (1922) | Page 8

in some quarters, an apprehension that hidden
beneath the movement to combat venereal diseases is an implied desire
or intention to reinstate the antiquated and detested provisions of that
Act. The Committee deem it necessary to say that they have not found
grounds for this suspicion; that no legislation can be effective unless it
deals equally and adequately with all men, women, and children
sufferers from venereal diseases of all kinds; that it finds little evidence
of a definite prostitute class in New Zealand, and, even if there were
such, the Contagious Diseases Acts have been proved to be useless as
measures towards the prevention of venereal infections; and it is the
Committee's individual and collective opinion that anything involving a
return to the administrative procedure of the Contagious Diseases Act
should have no part whatever in any new legislation in this Dominion.
(B.) _Examples of Difficulties--Concrete Cases._
Before proceeding to refer to present and suggested legislation, a few
incidents and cases taken from the evidence may help, as concrete
examples, to indicate the difficulties to be contended with:--
_Case 1._--A man--young and married, a municipal employee in a
city--associated sexually with a female employee in an eating-house
frequented by himself and co-employees. In due time he sought the
advice of the Medical Officer of Health for (what he suspected) severe
syphilis. Steps were taken to obtain his speedy admission to the local
hospital. The woman continued in her employment.
_Case 2._--A social-hygiene worker in her evidence said: "I think the
majority of cases I deal with (girls attending a hospital clinic) are
caused through mental depravity, and in some instances you cannot
convince them--they continue to carry on. I have tried all I know how
to show them the dangers, but they just laugh at me. I think it is really
in many cases just a mental condition--mental degeneration, possibly."
This officer explained that even while actually attending the clinic
some of these girls (affected with gonorrhoea), without any semblance
of reserve or decency, would discuss arrangements for further

intercourse with men, and on leaving the clinic (still in an infectious
state) were even seen to go off with young men waiting for them.
_Case 3._--Asked if he knew of any cases where the disease had been
contracted innocently, a medical practitioner stated in evidence: "I
know of a case where two girls in ---- were infected (syphilis) on the lip
through a young fellow handing them a cigarette which he was
smoking."
_Case 4._--A medical man in private practice, and Medical
Superintendent of the hospital in a small country town, states:
"Although, judging from an experience of over fifteen years, this
district would appear to be peculiarly free from any variety of venereal
disease, I think it may be of interest to your Committee to know what
happened here in the early part of 1918. At that time there came to
reside with her father in ----, a township about nine miles south of ----,
a woman, ----, who, shortly after her arrival consulted the late Dr. ----,
and was found to be the subject of secondary syphilis.... In all, three
cases of gonorrhoea, four of soft chancre (three of whom suffered from
phagadoemic ulceration which laid them up for weeks), and six cases
of purely syphilitic infection came under my care, all traceable to this
same woman. As every case of gonorrhoea and soft chancre afterwards
developed syphilis, ultimately I had thirteen cases of syphilis under my
treatment alone. Others, I have good reason to believe, went to other
towns, and doubtless some failed to seek any kind of help.... Having
prevailed upon the woman to come to my surgery ... I told her that she
was suffering from three varieties of venereal disease, which she was
freely disseminating. I then read to her that part of the Act which deals
with those who "knowingly and wilfully disseminate venereal
infection." That same afternoon she left for ----, where she continued to
ply her calling unhindered. Who can estimate the sum of the damage
done by one such person? Not one of those men infected was properly
treated, although I did all I possibly could to convince them of their
own danger and of the risk of spreading infection to others. Gradually,
as the obvious signs of active disease abated, they drifted away. I may
say the Wassermann reaction proved strongly positive in every case....
One of these men passed on his infection (syphilis) to a young girl in

this town, and she in turn infected other men, one of whom came to me,
while others went to my colleagues. Another man of the first group,
about middle age, and previously a very healthy, sober, hard-working
fellow, has developed thrombosis of his middle cerebral artery as the
result of a