Hello, I'm an expert in social history with a focus on the women's suffrage movement. Let's dive into the role of the "Cat and Mouse Act" in the suffrage movement.

The Cat and Mouse Act, officially known as the Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act 1913, was a piece of legislation in the United Kingdom that allowed for the temporary release of hunger-striking prisoners who were deemed too ill to continue their imprisonment. This act was significant for the suffragettes because it was a direct response to their use of hunger strikes as a form of protest against the government's refusal to grant women the right to vote.

Suffragettes, members of the women's suffrage movement, often engaged in civil disobedience, which included hunger strikes while in prison. The hunger strikes were a powerful tool because they brought attention to the cause and put pressure on the government. However, the government was reluctant to release these prisoners permanently, as it would be seen as a concession to the suffragettes' demands.

By enacting the Cat and Mouse Act, the government could release the suffragettes when they became seriously ill due to their hunger strikes, only to re-arrest them once they had recovered. This tactic was intended to break the will of the suffragettes and diminish the effectiveness of their protests. However, it had the opposite effect. The suffragettes turned this act into a propaganda victory by highlighting the cruelty and inhumanity of the government's actions.

The Cat and Mouse Act inadvertently helped the suffragettes by providing them with a narrative of government oppression and by galvanizing public opinion in their favor. It also demonstrated the lengths to which the suffragettes were willing to go for their cause, which furthered their cause's momentum and ultimately contributed to the **passage of the Representation of the People Act in 1918**, which granted the right to vote to women over the age of 30 who met certain property qualifications.

In summary, the Cat and Mouse Act was a strategic misstep by the government that inadvertently aided the suffragettes by providing them with a powerful symbol of their struggle and by rallying public support to their cause.

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The government sought to deal with the problem of hunger striking suffragettes with the 1913 Prisoners (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act, commonly known as the Cat and Mouse Act. This Act allowed for the early release of prisoners who were so weakened by hunger striking that they were at risk of death.read more >>