Introduction

Alexandre Parent-Duchâtelet was a social investigator and public health reformer (hygiéniste) in 19th century Paris. He began his research by looking at the spread of disease in Paris and how different sanitation standards influenced health standards. Eventually, he transitioned from looking at disease and public sanitation to investigating prostitution. Parent-Duchâtelet used more scientific methods than contemporary investigators to gather information that would later be published in his two volume work On Prostitution in the City of Paris. His treatise analyzes all aspects of prostitution, asking questions such as “Are there physical differences in women who are prostitutes versus women who are not?” and “Why do women become prostitutes?” This exhibit explores the work of Alexandre Parent-Duchâtelet on prostitution and public health in Paris in the 1830s and the lasting effect that his work had on both institutional treatment of and cultural attitudes towards prostitutes.