A report published this week has revealed that human rights abuses, degrading treatment, and forced family separations were recurring features of Northern Ireland's mother and baby institutions and Magdalene Laundries.

The Truth Recovery Independent Panel, established by the Executive Office in 2023, conducted the largest collection of lived-experience testimony on these institutions, hearing from almost 300 victims, survivors, and their relatives.

Revised figures in the report show that an estimated 12,062 women were admitted to mother and baby homes, up from 10,500, while admissions to Magdalene Laundries and related institutions climbed to 3,753 from a previous estimate of 3,455. The increase follows access to additional records.

The panel found evidence of sexual abuse before admission for some girls and women, as well as abuse, neglect, and inadequate care within the institutions. Its analysis concludes that their experiences amounted to degrading treatment and, in some cases, likely crossed the threshold into inhuman treatment.

The report makes 70 recommendations for a forthcoming public inquiry and the Northern Ireland Executive. It calls on the Executive to immediately appoint a chairperson for the inquiry, warning that delays have already cost opportunities for coordination. It also advises that women who gave birth in workhouses and were separated from their children, and those children, should be eligible for any financial redress scheme.

Last week, the Stormont Assembly passed legislation to establish the public inquiry and a redress framework. Panel co-chairs Professors Leanne McCormick and Sean O'Connell said the report marked a significant milestone and urged the inquiry to act swiftly to deliver truth, acknowledgment, and accountability.