NORTHERN IRELAND
Amnesty International
Posted: 05 February 2013
Amnesty International has issued a call for former residents of Magdalene Laundry-type institutions in Northern Ireland to come forward to report their experiences to the Historic Institutional Abuse Inquiry.
But the human rights group warned that there was now a clear “justice gap” emerging for women who experienced abuse in such institutions in Northern Ireland.
On the day that the Irish Government published a review showing state involvement in the operation of ten Magdalene Laundries in the Republic of Ireland, Amnesty called for women who had been resident in similar institutions in Northern Ireland to consider giving evidence to the Historic Institutional Abuse Inquiry recently established by the Stormont government.
Patrick Corrigan, Northern Ireland Programme Director of Amnesty International, said:
“The truth must now also emerge about the experiences of abuse suffered by girls and women in Magdalene Laundry-type institutions in Northern Ireland, which operated until 1977. Those who suffered abuse as children are now eligible to come forward to the Inquiry, recently established by the Northern Ireland Executive, and we would encourage them to consider doing so. 165 people have now registered with the Inquiry, and 61 of them have already described their experiences to the Acknowledgement Forum.
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