1 in 5 women in 18th century London were prostitutes

The growth in London’s maritime trade during the 18th century brought more and more ships to the wharves and quays. With the ships came sailors and inevitably there was an increase in the supply of prostitutes to meet the growing demand. Many women were forced into prostitution by poverty. Others decided that they would rather sell their bodies than work long hours as laundresses, servants or seamstresses. Prostitution was not confined to the maritime districts of the East End. It was also endemic in the West End. By the middle of the 18th century Covent Garden (a tourist attraction today) was full of seedy lodging houses and an astonishing number of Turkish baths, many of which were brothels. It was normal to catch people fornicating in public, and at times, even children were treated for venereal disease.