Emily Janes (14 February 1846 – 26 October 1928) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

women's rights activist. Born in

Tring Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked to ...

in Hertfordshire, Janes was educated at a school in

Chesham Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, north-west of central London, and part of the London commuter belt. It is in the Chess Valley, surrounded by farmla ...

before undertaking voluntary work, initially managing various clubs associated with the church in Apsley, then later as secretary of the Girls Friendly Society in St Albans and then as the volunteer matron of the Magdalen Hospital in Streatham. In 1882, Janes met

Ellice Hopkins Ellice Hopkins (30 October 1836 – 21 August 1904) was a Victorian social campaigner and author. Hopkins co-founded the White Cross Army in 1883, and vigorously advocated moral purity while criticising contemporary sexual double standard ...

, the two being introduced by

Louisa Hubbard Louisa Maria Hubbard (8 March 1836 – 5 November 1906) was an English feminist social reformer and writer. She is best known for her activism for increased opportunities for women's education and employment. Born into a wealthy merchant fam ...

, and worked for four years as her private secretary. Hopkins' work focused on reforming legislation regarding girls, and Janes was central to forming the Ladies' Associations for the Care of Friendless Girls, becoming its organising secretary in 1886. She toured the country, giving speeches on its behalf, and also on behalf of the

National Vigilance Association The National Vigilance Association was a British society established in August 1885 "for the enforcement and improvement of the laws for the repression of criminal vice and public immorality".Rachael Attwood, "Stopping the Traffic: the National Vig ...

. She was motivated in these efforts by a strong religious belief, holding that "right" would ultimately triumph. Janes also became the founding secretary of the Central Conference Council, a body established in 1891 by Hubbard to co-ordinate local organisations representing women workers. In addition to giving speeches and organising the body, she was editor of its journal, the ''Threefold Chord''. In 1895, it became the core of the new National Union of Women Workers (NUWW), with Janes again as organising secretary. Janes devoted much of the remainder of her life to the NUWW, although she also found time to edit the ''Englishwoman's Yearbook and Directory''. She retired in 1917 due to poor health, and later moved to

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, where she died in 1928.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janes, Emily 1846 births 1928 deaths English feminists People from Tring National Council of Women of Great Britain members