Suffragettes Boycott Census

From the Times Online:
"A mass protest by women campaigning to be allowed to vote has finally come to public attention, almost a century too late to make a difference. Hundreds of suffragettes risked prosecution in 1911 by spoiling their census forms in a coordinated revolt.

But the full impact of their boycott has not emerged until today because of secrecy rules. Census information is usually kept secret for 100 years, but the 1911 documents have been released three years early because the rule was not enshrined in law until 1920.

The public protest was reported in The Times on April 3, 1911, but its full extent remained hidden to the public. "