Children of 19th-century Turku sex workers suffered poverty but escaped its cycle with societal support, study finds

A new doctoral study reveals that children born to sex workers in 19th-century Turku faced severe poverty, yet many avoided lifelong deprivation when given adequate public assistance—a finding researchers say mirrors the challenges of child poverty today.

Historian Noora Viljamaa’s dissertation, defended at the University of Turku, examined records of 172 children born between 1808 and 1857 to likely sex workers in the city. The mothers, documented in police health registers, were subject to mandatory examinations over fears of venereal disease, particularly syphilis, which had no cure at the time.

Many of these children, born out of wedlock, were at higher risk of infant mortality, abandonment, or placement in poorhouses or private foster care. The 1827 Turku fire, which devastated the city and left families without shelter or food, worsened their plight. Public aid—such as rye, herring, potatoes, or firewood—proved critical. “Sufficient support could break the cycle of poverty,” Viljamaa noted. “Children in poorhouses received care they wouldn’t have otherwise.”

The study draws parallels to modern child poverty, citing unchanged root causes: parental death, illness, incarceration, or loss of income. Viljamaa warned that current cuts to social welfare risk repeating history, as voluntary aid alone failed to lift families out of poverty in the 1800s. “It’s alarming that child poverty is rising today, linked to weakened social protections,” she said.

Unlike prior research focused on rural poverty, Viljamaa’s work reconstructs urban hardship through church registers, poor relief reports, and health logs—sources typically framed by conflict between authorities and the marginalized. “These records still reveal life’s joys and sorrows,” she said, “showing how poverty could define—or, with help, ease over—lifetimes.”