Sexual Forensics in Victorian and Edwardian England ― Age, Crime and Consent in the Courts

In recent decades, histories of childhood, sexual crime, forensic medicine and sexuality have emerged as rich areas of historical enquiry. Sexual Forensics in Victorian and Edwardian England brings together these sub-fields of history to show the value of putting the body at the centre of histories of crime. It shows that medical testimony in cases of suspected sexual crime was grounded in ideas about sexual maturity, which was a more ambiguous and flexible concept than the legal age of sexual consent. Sexual forensics opened up space for moral questions in the courtroom, particularly around the difficult question of when a 'child' became an 'adult'. It both responded to and reinforced age-based and gendered stereotypes of victimhood. This study makes an important contribution to histories of medicine and sexuality, and helps us better to understand the roots of 'rape myths' that still circulate today.

Victoria Bates is Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Bristol, UK. She has a particular research interest in the social and cultural history of medicine in modern Britain, including medico-legal history and medical humanities.