Sexual abuse by superintending staff in the nineteenth-century lunatic asylum: medical practice, complaint and risk

Abstract

The nineteenth century witnessed a great shift in how insanity was regarded and treated. Well documented is the emergence of psychiatry as a medical specialization and the role of lunatic asylums in the West. Unclear are the relationships between the heads of institutions and the individuals treated within them. This article uses two cases at either end of the nineteenth century to demonstrate sexual misdemeanours in sites of mental health care, and particularly how they were dealt with, both legally and in the press. They illustrate issues around cultures of complaint and the consequences of these for medical careers. Far from being representative, they highlight the need for further research into the doctor–patient relationship within asylums, and what happened when the boundaries were blurred.

The saga of James Lucett and the process for curing insanity, Part 1 (1811–14): The rise and fall of Delahoyde and Lucett

“…Middleton, to join them in opening Hanover Park asylum in the town of Carlow. Middleton advanced the money for furniture, equipment and the transfer of patients from Elm Villa (Anon., 1816: 11-13, 17-19, 35-8;Dobbing and Tomkins, 2020). 5 Delahoyde became resident surgeon at Hanover Park.…”

“…At the sometimes raucous trial of Middleton in December 1816, it became clear that ‘Dr Delahoyde’ was at the epicentre of a set of sexual misdemeanours involving himself as well as various staff members and patients, including Mrs Hinds and Eliza from Elm Park. He had also evidently been blackmailing the hapless Dr Middleton ( Bell’s Weekly Messenger , 22 Dec. 1816; Dublin Evening Post , 16 Nov., 17 Dec. 1816; Anon., 1816 : 4–6, 12–18, 20–26, 35–68; Dobbing and Tomkins, 2020 : 4–6). By that time Delahoyde had emerged from jail, left Hanover Park and attempted to establish himself in private practice in Dublin, once again puffing his therapeutic triumphs in London ( Dublin Evening Post , 28 Sep.–2 Nov. 1816).…”

Gender and madness in nineteenth‐century Britain

“…As Dobbing and Tomkins note, broader developments in the professionalization of asylum doctors could have a direct influence on those power dynamics, but not always in the ways one might expect. In looking at two cases of male superintendents' sexual exploitation of female asylum patients at either end of the 19th century they find that relations between doctors, asylum staff, and patients were ridden with competing vulnerabilities and powers, even more so by the end of the century (2021).…”