During the time of 1859-1870 Christina Rossetti spent time working at the Highgate Penitentiary. Here she did nun-like work and acted as a type of big sister to the women that resided in the penitentiary. Highgate was a place that focused on the reformation of fallen women through repent and prayer. When refering to "fallen women" we are discussing prostitutes or women who had sex outside of their marriage.
While working here Rossetti was able to see the effects that the patriarchial power men had. She was able to have her eyes opened and gain a better understanding as to how these women became "fallen women" and how society felt about them. Because most of the workers were women Rossetti was also able to see the damage that women could have even on each other. Instead of truley understanding why the fallen women happened they just focused on trying to fix them.