The V of Johanna

A black "V" has been added in front of Johanna’s name. It is possible that it stands for Venereal Disease ("venereal" from Venus, the goddess of physical love). Many of the women in this ward were treated for STDs. Differences between venereal diseases were not always clear, and they were therefore grouped under this umbrella term.

STDs which developed skin rashes and infections as symptoms were treated in the same departments as other illnesses with similar conditions.

The focus lay on the treatment of the symptoms rather than the disease itself, as they were seen as the source of the disease. With the advent of more medical knowledge came the realization that the core of the problem lay in the disease, and not in the specific symptoms. Whether Johanna was treated for an STD this time and the time before, we do not know for sure, but there is a good chance that she became infected sometime in her life.

"Of measures against lecherous men, who drag venereal diseases from one place to another, not one word is spoken."as published in the social democratic newspaper Justice for All. Here it becomes painfully clear that venereal diseases, mainly syphilis, were a great danger to prostitutes.

At first there are few or no symptoms after contracting syphilis. Slowly an itchy rash appears. In the final stage of the disease, various symptoms occur. For example, it is known that infected people suffered from muscle degradation, hair loss, blindness, and dementia (although this could also have been caused by mercury and quack remedies, but more on that later). Syphilis, in its final stage, causes severe damage to the brain. The disease was common among sex workers and their clients.

For Johanna, it must have been a fearful reality. People rarely recovered from this disease. On top of that, being a public woman was taboo. More on that below.