1. Domestic Violence in Late-Victorian London Matthew Coleman Adviser: Dr. Andrew August History, Penn State Abington, Abington, Pennsylvania 19001 187 cases involved non-domestic violence. 30 cases were dismissed due to lack of a prosecutor. 33 cases were released. 42 cases were referred to another court. 14 cases were remanded. 68 cases received a fine or punishment. 29 cases involved domestic violence. 18 cases were dismissed due to lack of a prosecutor. 4 cases were released. 2 cases were referred to another court. 1 case was remanded (Huggins, later referred to a higher court) and only 1 case received a fine or punishment. Men committed the majority of non- domestic assault cases, with 139 cases involving male defendants. 55 cases had a female defendants. Men committed an even larger majority of domestic assaults, with 27 cases involving male defendants. Only two cases had female defendantss. Sources: East London Observer The East London Observer was a weekly newspaper published on Saturdays. The section called “Police Intelligence” recounted notable cases from the Thames Police Court. Thames Police Court Records Findings: The vast majority of domestic violence cases at Thames Police Court were dismissed (69%). Most of these cases resulted from private summonses, initiated by the alleged victims and dismissed when the victims did not appear in court. Defendants in non-domestic cases were often punished with fines or prison sentences (36%). While men made up the majority of defendants in non-domestic cases (72%), they made up an even larger portion in domestic assaults, (93%). This suggests that wives filed complaints but did not pursue the prosecution of their husbands. Newspaper Coverage: Non-Domestic Assaults in Court187 Non-Domestic Assaults in Paper17 Domestic Assaults in Court29 Domestic Assaults in Paper1 Sentencing Non-Domestic Assaults Domestic Assaults Gender Non-Domestic AssaultsDomestic Assaults The Thames Police court was a “summary court” in East London. This was the lowest level court that handled relatively modest crimes. In more serious cases, defendants were referred to higher courts such as the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey). This project looked at police court records and related newspaper reports for October 1885 from the Thames Police Court in East London (1,272 cases in all). It compared assault cases in which the victim and defendant had the same last name against those in which the parties had different last names. This was the only criterion available to establish a domestic relationship between the parties. Methodology: The tables below examine newspaper coverage of assault cases. While accounts of 9% of non- domestic assaults appeared in the newspaper, the paper covered only one domestic case. The defendant in the only domestic violence case covered in the East London Observer, John Huggins, stood accused of attempting to murder his wife, Clara. Most domestic and non-domestic assaults at Thames Police Court were common assaults, less serious than this case. After repeatedly remanding (postponing) the case, the Thames Police Court magistrate referred John Huggins to the Central Criminal Court for trial. East London Observer, October 17, 1885 On November 16, 1885, Huggins appeared at the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey), charged with attempted murder. Clara Huggins, John Huggins, a servant, and a neighbor all testified about the events of October 14. Though Clara Huggins testified that John had tried to suffocate her with a pillow, the court found the evidence unconvincing. John Huggins was pronounced not guilty. Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 7.2, 20 March 2015), November 1885, trial of JOHN WILLIAM HUGGINS (57) (t18851116-16).