Hunger Strikes and The Cat and Mouse Act

Hunger Strikes.

The first arrests occurred in 1905 when Christabel Pankhurst and Annie Kenney interrupted a political meeting in Manchester to ask two Liberal politicians (Winston Churchill and Sir Edward Grey) 'if they believed women should have the right to vote, neither man replied' (Bartley, 2012, p.99). As a result, the two women got out a banner which had on it "Votes for Women" and shouted at the two politicians to answer their questions. Pankhurst and Kenney were thrown out of the meeting and arrested for causing an obstruction and a technical assault on a police officer (Beechener, 2004, p.73).

These suffragettes decided to go on hunger strike in response to not being granted political prisoner status (Bartley, 2012, p.101). The government did not want the suffragettes to die in prison 'they were afraid this would increase public support for the cause of votes for women' (Kidd & Rees, 2003, p.73). To ensure this did not happen the procedure of force feeding was adopted. 

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/99402708/



Marion Wallace Dunlop (1864-1942) was arrested on the 5th July 1909 for militancy, she decided to go on hunger strike as she felt she was not treated as a first division political prisoner. Marion Wallace Dunlop lasted 91 hours before she was released due to ill health. It was reported that Marion Wallace Dunlop was working entirely under her own initiative, however after this, hunger strikes became 'standard WSPU practice by 1910' (Chapman, 2013, p.153)

Suffragettes that experienced this procedure were keen to voice the process, Suffragette Mary Leigh was sentenced to a term in custody at Winson Green Prison. In protest at her treatment she broke her cell window. This resulted in Mary being moved to the punishment cell in the prison. She immediately went on hunger strike and later detailed her account:

“I was then surrounded and forced back onto the chair, which was tilted backward. There were about ten persons around me. The doctor then forced my mouth so as to form a pouch, and held me while one of the wardresses poured some liquid from a spoon; it was milk and brandy. After giving me what he thought was sufficient, he sprinkled me with eau de cologne, and wardresses then escorted me to another cell on the first floor. The wardresses forced me onto a bed (in the cell) and two doctors came in with them. While I was held down a nasal tube was inserted. It was two yards long, with a funnel at the end; there was a glass junction in the middle to see if the liquid was passing. The end was put up left and right nostrils on alternate days. Great pain was experienced during the process, both mental and physical. One doctor inserted the end up my nostril while I was held down by the wardresses, during which process they must have seen my pain, for the other doctor interfered (the matron and two other wardresses were in tears) and they stopped and resorted to feeding me by spoon. More eau de cologne was used"(Trueman, 2013). http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/force_feeding_suffragettes.htm

Force feeding and the publicity became embarrassing for the government, well know journalists H.N. Brailsford and Henry Nevinson resigned from their jobs at The Times newspaper reporting on the 5th October 1909 that they 'cannot denounce torture in Russia and support it in England' (Chapman, 2013, p.153).

WSPU Hunger Strike Medal

Hunger Strike Medals

These medals were introduced by WSPU in 1909 (Crawford, 2003,p.306). They were given to suffragettes as recognition for their hunger strikes once they had been released from prison 'a new bar was added showing the date of arrest for each prison stay' (Crawford, 2003,p.307).

Looking at this hunger strike medal, I cannot help but liken it to a war medal. They look very similar and they appear to be added to like a war medal, for each hunger strike a new bar is added, for each war effort a man would receive a new stripe. This makes me think about how suffragettes would have worn these badges as their badge of honour, proving their commitment to their cause.



 The Cat and Mouse Act.

http://catandmouse.org.uk/stories.htm

Many suffragettes exploited the act of force feeding to discredit the government and gain sympathy to their cause.

To counteract this negativity 'the home office rushed through a raft of special measures' (Housego & Storey, 2013, p. 39) known as the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge of Ill Health) Act 1913.

This act permitted the release of weak prisoners on hunger strike until they had recovered enough to be re-imprisoned to finish the rest of their sentence. This ongoing cycle of capture and release was dubbed by the suffragettes as 'The Cat and Mouse Act' due to its likeness of the children's game defined as ' the act of toying with or tormenting something before destroying it' (Merriam-Webster, 2013).

http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=145941&page=2

Thinking about the treatment that these women received is truly shocking and leaves me feeling quite uneasy. It shows how committed to the cause and how strongly they must have felt as most of these women endured this experience on several occasions. In today's 21st Century it simply would not happen, even the most dangerous prisoners convicted of the most unthinkable crimes have their basic human rights protected and would not be subjected to such an ordeal.