Today, the term woman simply denotes one's sex. It does not define her character, morals and values, or even her profession. However, this was not always the case. At the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century, during the Progressive Era, there was a drive for reform. Various social problems became targets for investigation and intervention: child labour, juvenile delinquency, corruption in city government and police departments, and prostitution. These things were newly discovered social problems; the only differences during this period were the new assumptions, strategies, and expectations of a broad organization of activists. Progressive reform actively decided to take more of a role in regulating the social welfare of its citizens, and those private and public spheres of activity could not be disentangled. Prostitution was an issue that underscored the relationship between home life and street life, wages of 'sin' and low wages of women workers, double sexual standards and transmission of venereal disease. The late nineteenth century response to prostitution revealed the competing

Looking at the root causes of why women choose to become prostitutes will show one of the reasons why reformers were unable to abolish it. Research and investigation done in the early twentieth century debated the issues of why one would become a prostitute. Prostitution was believed to be a grave social evil. Some believed that women's wages were rather low, thus driving women to turn to prostitution. However, after "...treating hundreds of prostitutes for seven years, the mission [Toronto rescue mission director] had not found a single women who had been driven by low pay to her 'misdeeds'". It was then concluded that the low pay was not the solitary of primary cause of prostitution. "It was pointed out that girls who struggled to survive on 5-6$ per week managed to 'retain their virtue' proved, first, that it could be done and, second, that something other than poverty namely, moral weakness accounted for women's downfall." But how could you possibly say that women were naturally immoral when it was men that were engaging in these acts with the prostitutes. All of these reasons explain why become harlots, but, if it was not for men who pursued these women then there would be no money or demand for the victims to fall into the trap of prostitution.

Benjamin, Harry. Prostitution and Morality. (New York), The Julian Press, Inc., 1964.)

The nineteenth century regulation was in effect but abolition is the common route for the twentieth century. "Regulation is a system where by women practicing prostitution are registered with the police and are controlled by means of rules, the avowed object of which is to safeguard public order and decency on one hand and public health on the other." Those who upheld regulation believed that it was impossible to eradicate prostitution therefore it should be controlled. It sounds great in theory but the amount of energy that is involved in keeping track of who is registered and all that goes on behind the policies eyes.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Unemployment Commission, Abolishment None, Progressive Era, Albert Ellis, Union WCTU, , twentieth century, nineteenth century, Services Canada, late nineteenth, eradicate prostitution, progressive reform, Toronto Press, Pleasures City, Report Special, attitudes towards female, attitudes towards, sex drive, ambivalent attitudes, ambivalent attitudes towards, response prostitution, beginning twentieth century, inc 1964, late nineteenth century, towards female sexuality,
Approximate Word count = 2089
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)