The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has published a report which urges the government to immediately set up a statutory enquiry into the treatment of women and girls in the “Magdalen Laundries”. It also calls for the provision for redress to the survivors as appropriate. Please click here to see the press release and the report, entitled “Assessment of the Human Rights issues arising in relation to the “Magdalen Laundries”. This report was compiled following a request from the Justice for Magdalenes group in June 2010.
Speaking about the report, Dr Maurice Manning, President of the IHRC said “the State cannot abdicate from its responsibilities in relation to the treatment of women and girls in the “Magdalen Laundries”. The IHRC’s assessment reveals that there was State involvement where girls and women entered the “Magdalen Laundries” following a court process and “in the absence of access to clear information, serious questions arise in relation to the State’s duties to guard against arbitrary detention, compulsory labour, and servitude”.