The actions of a nun should be investigated for sexual abuse, and a social worker for “baby trading”, as part of an upcoming public inquiry into mother and baby institutions, Magdalene Laundries and workhouses in Northern Ireland.
An independent panel has found “systemic failures” by the state led to a series of “serious human rights issues”.
Those who took part spoke of abuse, neglect, degrading treatment and experiences likely to “reach the threshold of inhuman treatment”.
Thousands of women, pregnant women, and girls passed through the secretive institutions, which were largely run by religious orders, from the 1920s until the 1990s.
The panel found more than 12,000 women and girls were sent to these mother and baby homes, a higher number than the previously estimated 10,000.
Additionally, 3,750 were admitted to Magdalene Laundries and Thorndale Industrial Home.
