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Magdalene asylums were institutions from the 18th to the late-20th centuries ostensibly to house "fallen women", a term used to imply female sexual promiscuity. Asylums for such girls and women and others believed to be of poor moral character, such as prostitutes, operated throughout Europe and North America for much of the nineteenth and well into the twentieth century. The first such asylum in Ireland opened on Leeson Street in Dublin in 1765, founded by Lady Arabella Denny.

Initially the mission of the asylums was to rehabilitate women back into society, but by the early twentieth century the homes had become increasingly punitive and prison-like. In most asylums, the inmates were required to undertake hard physical labour, including laundry and needle work. They endured a daily regimen that included long periods of prayer and enforced silence.^[1]

In Ireland, such asylums were known as Magdalene laundries. It is estimated that up to 30,000 women passed through such institutions in Ireland.^[2][3] The last Magdalene asylum, in Waterford in the Republic of Ireland, closed on 25 September 1996.^{[3][not in citation given][4][5][not in citation given]}

Contents [hide] 1 Origins 2 Conditions 3 Public scandal 3.1 Publicity and documentaries 3.2 Inquiry into child abuse 3.3 International law 3.4 2013 Publication of Inquiry Report 4 Legacy 4.1 Literature and reportage 4.2 Film and stage 4.3 Music 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links