One commentator notes that 'the period before 1948 saw the majority of work with vulnerable children undertaken by ‘moral’ or family welfare workers. These were mostly voluntary workers based within groups such as the Church of England’s Moral Welfare Associations. Their remit also included supporting friendless girls, unmarried mothers and babies, intervening to prevent prostitution, and helping treat and prevent the spread of venereal disease. Boys were not widely perceived as sexually vulnerable, and barely featured in discussions of child assault and prostitution.'