As at St Olave’s church in London (Letters, 1 July), Josephine Butler is well-remembered in her native Northumberland. She is buried at Kirknewton, just 5 miles from one of the parishes I serve. I have appealed to her inspiring example more than once, when preaching and when writing to my MP in opposition to the government’s iniquitous scheme to deport to Rwanda those desperate enough to cross the Channel in small boats.
More than 150 years ago, in her opposition to the Contagious Diseases Acts, Butler successfully argued that you don’t solve social problems by punishing the victims. I trust that Butler will be remembered and honoured long after the Rwanda deportation scheme, like the Contagious Diseases Acts, has been consigned to history.
Rev Canon Dr Rob Kelsey
Vicar of Norham, Northumberland
• There is a Josephine Butler memorial window in Liverpool Cathedral, and a Josephine Butler Memorial Trust raising awareness of domestic violence – something I think she would have been proud of.
Rev Frank Cain
Liverpool
• There’s a whole college named after Josephine Butler at Durham University, a bigger tribute than a stained glass window. Outside London, of course.
Ian Dawson
Heywood, Lancashire
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