IRELAND
The Journal
A GROUP OF Magdalene survivors met yesterday with Senator Martin McAleese, husband of former President, Mary McAleese, about State interaction with the Magdalene laundries.
The Justice for Magdalenes group said that a group of surivors in contact with the organisation met with Senator McAleese, who is the Independent Chairperson of the Inter-departmental Committee to “clarify state interaction with the Magdalene Laundries”.
JFM described the meeting as “a deliberately private event, in accordance with the wishes of the women and consistent with the organisation’s ethos to put the dignity and privacy of survivors first”.
Katherine O’Donnell, Director of Women’s Studies at UCD’s School of Social Justice/JFM Advisory Committee said:
As the Magdalene Laundries system served to disempower and silence women, it is vital that survivors actively participate in the Inter-departmental Committee process. Apart from the vast level of valuable knowledge that survivors possess, it is also essential that those most affected are offered a voice at the table.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.