Troisième Congrès International, La Haye, 17-22 Septembre 1883

This document provides detailed transcription of the major events held during the thirteenth international meeting of the International Abolitionist Federation. The proceedings begin with a lengthy list of participants and then provides an overview of each of the six days of the conference. Discussions were broken into two thematic branches; those focusing on law and legislation and those taking primary reference in health and hygiene. On the first day, major sessions addressed the passing of the Contagious Disease Acts in Great Britain, including reflections by Josephine Butler and the place of abolitionism in the Netherlands. The second day included discussions of health and hygiene standards in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, the United States, Australia, and Great Britain. The day's plenary session, led by Federation President Emile de Laveleye, investigated statistics associated with anti-venereal disease legislation. A public discussion on the Federation's principles and goals ended the second day of the conference. On the third day, the hygiene branch met again to discuss venereal disease rates in Denmark while the day's plenary session included James Stuart's recollections of the British abolitionist campaign in both the metropole and the colonies. Day four included a discussion by Emilie de Morsier on the abolition of the morals brigade in Paris and a report on the abolitionist campaign in Italy. An open debate for male participants ended the day, which invited participation from various doctors studying venereal disease transmission. The fifth day of the conference focused specifically on whether brothels should be tolerated and whether prostitutes should be forced to undergo mandatory medical examinations, while the sixth and final day of the conference includes the closing speech made by Emile de Laveleye. The proceedings end with a list of the resolutions proposed and passed by the Federation's Legal and Hygiene sections.