Last week, the Irish Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, apologized to survivors of the Magdalene Laundries, the name given to the women subjected to the harsh conditions of the laundries unwed pregnant women. From 1922 to 1996, an estimated 10,000 women and girls were placed.Many of their children were placed for adoption.
Justice for Magdalenes, a peer group of Magdalene survivors, rejected the apology, in part because the Prime Minister stopped short of acknowledging the state’s past involvement in institutionalizing teenaged and young women.
In 2002, the movie The Magdalene Sisters depicted the experiences of the women who were placed in the institutions.
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