Poor diet, healthcare and sanitation coupled with overcrowding also meant that disease was rife and mortality high. Large numbers of children were al… - Adenike Grange

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Poor diet, healthcare and sanitation coupled with overcrowding also meant that disease was rife and mortality high. Large numbers of children were also orphaned and ended up living on the streets. Some were forced into prostitution, while others sought shelter in sewer pipes. This is virtually the situation in developing countries today. Also, at that time, specific legislation did not exist to protect children from cruelty. A change in societal attitudes inspired many philanthropists to take action. In most cases, people were inspired by a sense of religious duty. It was not until the end of the 19th Century that government began to intervene. The lesson to be learnt here is that economic growth alone does not automatically guarantee the development of a comparable level of humaneness in society.