IRELAND
Irish Times
JOE HUMPHREYS
Women admitted to Magdalene laundries described to the committee the “harsh and physically demanding” conditions in which they worked, with routine punishments for slacking or breaking silence during work.
“The overwhelming majority . . . described verbal abuse and being the victim of unkind or hurtful taunting and belittling comments,” the committee found.
While a small number of women reported physical abuse, many more said they were subjected to “mental cruelty”. One of the biggest grievances was “complete lack of information about why they were there and when they would get out”.
One woman said: “In our heads, all we could think of is we are going to die here. That was an awful thing to carry.”
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