Belfast, Derry, Newry 1960s and 1970s: Girls of school age worked in the laundries of the Good Shepherd Sisters; a priest asked girls whether they were virgins

What happened to the people

Who was affected? Victims and numbers

1. One complainant reported that all the girls of her age were taken one at a time by a sister into a room where a priest asked each whether she was a virgin; the sister was present. The inquiry calls this exploration of a girl's sexual history by a priest entirely inappropriate and abusive.
   Evidence: Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, Northern Ireland, Kap. 21, Abs. 76

   „where a priest then asked each of them whether they were a virgin“

   Evidence: Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, Northern Ireland, Kap. 21, Abs. 76

   „we regard such a question in those circumstances as unacceptable and abusive“

   Evidence: Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, Northern Ireland, Kap. 21, Abs. 76

   „HIA 175 stated that SR 196 was present during the questioning“

How were they charged and sentenced?

1. The inquiry dealt only with girls who were under eighteen on admission, in three institutions of the Good Shepherd Sisters in Belfast, Derry and Newry. It expressly did not investigate the so-called Magdalene homes and laundries with adult women; whether their experiences should be investigated was a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly.
   Evidence: Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, Northern Ireland, Kap. 21, Abs. 2

   „The Inquiry investigated allegations relating to Good Shepherd institutions at three locations in Belfast, Derry and Newry.“

   Evidence: Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, Northern Ireland, Kap. 21, Abs. 3

   „the Inquiry has not engaged in a wider investigation into what are commonly called Magdalene homes or laundries, or mother and baby homes“

   Evidence: Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, Northern Ireland, Kap. 21, Abs. 3

   „Whether their experiences should be investigated is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive and the Northern Ireland Assembly.“

What happened to those affected?

1. All three complainants who were in the Good Shepherd in Derry in the 1960s worked in the laundry while under eighteen. One of them worked full-time for about eighteen months after leaving school. According to the inquiry it was wholly inappropriate for girls of school age to work there, even at weekends or in holidays; the sisters should not have permitted such industrial work, and it amounted to systemic abuse. One complainant described being made to work unpaid in the laundry in Belfast; the sisters denied that anyone so young would have worked there.
   Evidence: Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, Northern Ireland, Kap. 21, Abs. 132

   „We accept that all three applicants worked in the laundry on occasions when they were under the age of eighteen.“

   Evidence: Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, Northern Ireland, Kap. 21, Abs. 131

   „she would have worked full-time for about eighteen months before she left in February 1965“

   Evidence: Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, Northern Ireland, Kap. 21, Abs. 132

   „we consider that it was wholly inappropriate for HIA 107 or HIA 387 to do so while they were still of school age, even at weekends or on school holidays“

   Evidence: Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, Northern Ireland, Kap. 21, Abs. 132

   „This should not have been permitted by the Good Shepherd Sisters, and we considered this amounted to systemic abuse.“

   Evidence: Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry, Northern Ireland, Kap. 21, Abs. 55

   „She described to the Inquiry how she was made to work unpaid in the laundry, although the Good Shepherd Sisters say that no one as young as thirteen would have been allowed to do so.“