Victorian values, venereal diseases and the systemic abuse of Glasgow’s working-class girls

The Glasgow Lock Hospital for Unfortunate Females was a crucial part in the city's systemic abuse of women in the mid-nineteenth century.

By Dr Anni Donaldson

📷 Getty

Annie McGuire was only nine and her wee pal Elizabeth Martin just seven when they were admitted to The Glasgow Lock Hospital for Unfortunate Females. Both Annie and Elizabeth were designated a “W” for Wanderer and “M” for Magdalene against their names. They had gonorrhoea and died in the hospital at the Lock three years later…