New Conflict, Old Conundrum: Venereal Disease Control and Education in World War Two Canada

This dissertation examines venereal disease control and education in Second World War Canada. By examining the methods and materials used in anti-venereal disease campaigns, I show that these public health drives employed a “moral-medical” model of care and education which stressed that increasingly modern treatment techniques did not wholly supplant morality-based understandings of sexually transmitted infections. While effective chemotherapy and, later, antibiotics made the fight against venereal disease easier, for many of Canada’s physicians, educators, and military officials it remained essential to remind Canadians that the moral elements of sexuality could not be brushed aside.

 Influenced by the experiences of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the Great War, anti-venereal disease campaigners were concerned by the impact of venereal disease rates on productivity and efficiency in a wartime setting. On the home front, the prevailing sentiment was that venereal disease both economically and morally threatened the nation. Workers infected with venereal disease threatened wartime labour supplies, endangered the future of Canada’s youth and undermined the spiritual unity of Canada. For these reasons, government and medical officials understood anti-venereal disease work as essential and used its purported importance as grounds to renew campaigns against old moral foes, including the sex trade. While organizations like the Health League of Canada did provide the civilian populace with legitimate medical information concerning venereal disease, their work was far from value-free. 

 With respect to the military, venereal disease control and education differed depending on whether recipients were men or women. For servicemen, moral messaging was prevalent, but so too was a grudging acceptance of male sexuality. Male personnel could expect to receive worthwhile information about venereal disease, prophylaxis training and access to the latest treatment methods: keeping men fit and ready to serve remained a top priority among military officials. For women in the auxiliary services, however, education was prioritized over treatment and prophylaxis. While women who became infected with venereal disease were provided with medical care, anti-venereal disease education for servicewomen often amounted to little more than moral rejoinders to dwell on respectability and their future roles as Canada’s mothers.