Methods of the Suffragists

In 1918, the Representation of the People Act enfranchised women over the age of 30 and a householder/married to a householder, and men could vote at ages 21. This was such an important breakthrough for women, and this was just the beginning. In 1928, only 10 years later, women were given equal voting rights as men. There is, however, a debate to whether the suffragettes either helped or hindered Parliament changing the voting laws. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the suffragettes put lots of laborious work into trying to get what they wanted.

There are many reasons why the suffragettes helped to get equal voting rights, mainly from the publicity they gained. Their approach was a lot more aggressive and radical compared to the 'peaceful protest' methods of the suffragists. They subsequently chose the slogan 'deeds, not words' which they believed would get the public's attention. During this time, they raised publicity by being quite destructive: smashing windows (sometimes government offices windows), arson (a bomb was planted in Lloyd George's house), cutting telegraph wires, attacking doctors, harassing politicians, even throwing an axe at the Prime Minister! This got them on the front page of newspapers frequently, so the campaign got even more noticed.

When the suffragettes got sent to prison, some went on hunger strikes. Starting in 1909, they originally did this so that the authorities would recognise they weren't just ordinary criminals. The authorities consequently decided to start force-feeding the women who refused to eat. This won so much sympathy. Stories of the sufferings these women experienced were often published in 'Votes for Women' (a suffragette newspaper). They believed that the more people who knew about this terrible ordeal, the more people who would support them.

Even Millicent Fawcett (leader of suffragists), a rival to the suffragettes, said "in my opinion, far from having injured the movement, [the suffragettes] have done more during the last 12 months to bring it within the region of practical politics than we have been able to accomplish in the same number of years.

The suffragettes, however, did try some non-violent approaches. Through their use of propaganda methods, the suffragettes managed to get their word across. The suffragettes released a newspaper called 'Votes for Women', which sold 25,000 copies per week. This got the campaign noticed. Shops began selling clothes, dolls and jewellery using the suffragette colours- green, white and purple, which again, raised publicity.

An example of a biased poster created by the suffragettes is the poster showing a woman being 'tortured', or rather, force-fed. It was presenting how the hunger- strikers were force-fed in prison. The hunger strikes were planned to gain extra publicity, but the force-feeding gained great public sympathy.

There are also many other suffragette postcards used to advertise their cause. This postcard is showing that a man may have been a convict, insane or a drunkard and be able to vote, whereas a woman who is more able than some men can't vote. These non-violent approaches definitely gained a lot more publicity.

The suffragettes