Tramps and Girl-Mothers Between Stigmatisation and Rehabilitation. Belgium, 1918–1940

From the end of the nineteenth century in Belgium, there was a profound shift in the discourse on misery and marginality. The primacy given to individual responsibility, which justified the confinement of the ‘deviant’ destitute, gave way to more inclusive social action. In the name of preserving the moral and social order, preventive and social reintegration measures were put in place for people rejected on the margins of society. The evolution of care for homeless people and ‘girl-mothers’ reflects this evolution particularly well. Shelters and maternal homes were founded to provide them a temporary home. Working closely with the public authorities, these private associations developed social action aimed at social rehabilitation. But stigmatisation was far from disappearing: it continued to legitimise the tight control of ‘deviant’ people, according to an ideology based on the value of work and, for ‘girl-mothers’, on the love of children and domestic chores.