The Irish government has been officially recognized as guilty in the “enslavement” of many thousands of women in the Magdalene Laundries, where they received no pay, pension, or social protection. The state and the Irish police force bore a major responsibility for sending the women there and failing to protect their rights.

The Magdalene Laundries, a dark chapter in the history of Ireland, represent a shadow that extends for over two centuries. Often, the information published about them is incomplete or contradictory, or it lacks reliable sources, which provides the reader with a distorted view of what really happened. In fact, in Ireland until the end of 1996, girls or young women who were sexually abused could be incarcerated for life in the Magdalene Laundries by the Irish authorities...