The Office XII - Veneral diseases

Syphilis also called pox, appears during the Renaissance period and rapidly spreads through Europe following armies on the march.For a long period the only treatment will be mercury ointment (the well-known Napolitan ointment) or injections of the same.

To counter this sexual peril, (Venerum stems from Venus) , a politics of interning prostitutes is the rule.Such is the case during the XVII century., when the General Hospital is opened in 1681 under the reign of Louis XIV « for the internment of the poor and beggars,in the city of Rouen and its neighbourhoods » To enforce public law and order, the General Hospital also houses debauched women. During the XIX century, the board of the Hospices Civils acknowledge the disastrous conditions of life prevailing in this building as concerns infected women. Guy de Maupassant in a short story taking place in 1870 introduces the reader to « an abode of poverty, suffering and death » (Le Lit 29 published in 1884) In the later years of the XIX century, for want of an efficient treatment of the disease, the sole counter measure consists in a bi-weekly inspection of the brothels by a doctor appointed by the administration. He may deliver a work permit to those women deemed fit. Others are temporarily sent to « The office XII » in the company of the prostitutes arrested by the police while soliciting on the streets.

« The office XII » left an infamous mark in the history of the times. Women survived there in dubious conditions of hygiene and promiscuity.Ill-reputed in terms of morals and because of the costs induced by their up-keep, they are supposed to be under the guidance and watch of nuns. But indiscipline is rife,fights are daily occurrences and rebellious women are locked up on a diet of dry bread and water in a « cabanon » or cell. This is well-described in a graphic novel by Doctor René Dubuc « Des poules dans une cage (Hens in a hen house)» containing several illustrative caricatures. Charles Nicolle appointed director of the service in 1900 will vehemently denounce this state of facts.

Different discoveries will improve the situation in the XX century : islation of the germ responsible for the disease in 1905 Test for the diagnosis of the disease in 1906 treatment by intravenous injection of an arsenic derivate (Novarsenobenzol) In the aftermath of the first World War, and following an increase in the number of patients Doctor Joseph Payenneville (1877-1949) head of department of the service of dermato venereology in the hospitals of Rouen will be put in charge of the reorganization of the municipal health dispensary but it is only by the year 1928 that a totally new building will be completed