Kōrero: Sexual health

Public discussion of venereal disease was limited in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The shame attached to syphilis and gonorrhoea meant infection was hidden as far as possible. By the 1920s, when this report appeared in New Zealand Truth, venereal disease was publicly discussed – but only in general terms or when it affected people already on society’s margins. The article describes a 19-year-old woman whose baby had died from congenital syphilis as already having another illegitimate child, and pursuing 'an immoral career'.