§ 2

    Although the WSPU used peaceful means of protest, such as demonstrations (i.e. marching in public to demand a change of the law), its members were often treated brutally. For instance, in 1908, Emmeline Pankhurst was arrested twice for protesting outside Parliament. After some attempts by sympathetic MPs to pass bills were dropped, its tactics became more extreme to get more attention, and were viewed by many as violent : they threw stones onto public buildings (such as the Prime Minister's house), chained themselves to railings, disturbed public meetings, etc. When they were imprisoned, women went on hunger strike to be recognized as political prisoners. They were force-fed, which is considered a form of torture. This created sympathy and support for the Suffragettes. The Movement had its first martyr when one woman threw herself under the King’s horse during the 1913 Derby, and died from her injuries.

§3

    World War 1 drastically changed women’s role in society. When the war began, women were needed to replace the millions of men who were sent away to fight. Many women went to work for the first time in lots of different industries – even in dangerous munitions factories making weapons for the war. The WSPU organised nursing crews near the battlefields.

§4

The first right to vote was granted to female householders over thirty in 1918. It was not until 1928 that women gained the right to vote on the same terms as men.