International Abolitionist Federation

International Abolitionist Federation

Attendees at an IAF Conference in Geneva, c. 1900
Formation	1875
Founder	Josephine Butler
Purpose	Abolition of regulated prostitution
Formerly called	British, Continental and General Federation for the Abolition of the Government Regulation of Vice

The International Abolitionist Federation (IAF; French: Fédération abolitioniste internationale), founded in Liverpool in 1875, aimed to abolish state regulation of prostitution and fought the international traffic in women in prostitution. It was originally called the British and Continental Federation for the Abolition of Prostitution.^[a]

The federation was active in Europe, the Americas, and the European colonies and mandated territories. It felt that state regulations encouraged prostitution while having the effect of enslaving women in prostitution. It felt that the solution lay in moral education, empowerment of women through the right to acquire skills and work, and marriage. The federation experienced opposition from the authorities in Europe and the colonies, who were unwilling to relinquish control, and from reformers who wanted to suppress traffic of women but were less concerned with their welfare. After World War I (1914–18), the IAF was involved in discussions about League of Nations conventions on the issues, and after World War II (1939–45), about United Nations conventions. In later years, the main focus was on eliminating unjust regulations that violated women's rights.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).