Social and Legal Perceptions of Sexual Violence in Victorian Liverpool

In recent years, reports of sexual violence have garnered a vast amount of attention from the public and in the media. The perceptions of these victims are rooted deep within historical ideas surrounding gender, sexuality and respectability. This paper looks to explore societies perception of female victims, of all ages, of sexual and interpersonal violence in late Victorian Britain, with a particular focus on Liverpool. During this period, sexual violence became increasingly visible in the public realm, this culminated in 1885 with the publication of W. T. Stead’s, The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon. This provocative piece of journalism reflected the broader ideals surrounding Victorian societies ideals of femininity and morality – these ideals which significantly influenced legal, social and cultural responses to female victims of sexual violence.
This research employs an interdisciplinary approach which combines a historical analysis with sociological, criminological and gender studies frameworks to investigate how these perceptions were constructed and reinforced. Exploring the work of theorists such as Judith Butler and John Tosh, and historians such as Kim Stevenson and Shani D’Cruze, this paper examines how hegemonic masculinity, patriarchal structures and gender norms shaped both media portrayals and judicial outcomes. By situating historical case studies within a broader theoretical context, we can explore how Victorian anxieties which encompass sexuality and respectability continue to influence modern discourse on sexual violence and its victims.