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«For lack of accounting »: a choreography of silence around Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries

«For lack of accounting »: a choreography of silence around Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries. Comments by Ileana Steccolini.

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«For lack of accounting »: a choreography of silence around Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries

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  1. «For lack of accounting»: a choreography of silencearoundIreland’sMagdalenLaundries Comments by Ileana Steccolini

  2. The paper explores the harmful effects of the (wilful) absence of accounting and accountability and economic considerations from key relationships in and around Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries • ‘The most successful ideological effects are the ones that have no need of words, but only of laissez-faire and complicitous silence.’ (Bourdieu 1990b) Veryimportanttopic, both for the accounting and accountabilityliteratureand the Public Administration one Relevance of the paper

  3. Field, capital, doxa, habitus, logic of the price • According to the author: the paperaimsatusingtheseconcepts in a «holistic way» Theremay be a need to clarifywhatismeant by «holistic» and howthisisattained in the paper (ifthisisconsidered an originalcontribution of the paper, I wouldalsodiscussthis in the introduction and conclusion) Bourdieu’sconcepts

  4. Archival material, parliament records, media accounts, a series of government reports, eye-witness reports, submissions compiled by advocate groups to various human rights bodies and their responses, and the testimonies of the women themselves Are there alternative views on the phenomenon (Church’s and Magdalens’ views)? How do thesesourcesensure a balanced and unbiasedview? Sources

  5. Magdalen Laundries were opened in the UK and Ireland since the Eighteenth Century as refuges for ‘fallen women’, • catering for unmarried women who were pregnant or mothers of no more than one child • with the aim to transform their lives increasing their social, economic, cultural and symbolic capital: • ‘Here, instead of loathsome disease these reclaimed individuals will enjoy the blessings of health. They will exchange gross ignorance for useful knowledge, the pangs of guilt for peace of mind, the base drudgery of prostitution for profitable employment in innocent recreations …. Instead of being the detested pests of society, they will be useful and well-regarded members of it’ Anon (1767) Clarify the differentmeanings of capital in thisspecificcontext MagdalenLaundries:the context of the study

  6. Focus of the paper: • lookingat the involvement of the Irish State in the operation of the Magdalenlaundries • since 1922 to 1996 (when the last laundrycloseditsdoors) • Duringthat time: • fewer women entered voluntarily, • they were detained for longer periods; • the women came from a wider variety of backgrounds and were less likely to be single parents or prostitutes. • the institutions also became far more secretive • Some authors suggest that the purpose of the institutions changed with the founding of the Irish state from one of rehabilitation to one of containment, functioning as part of a wider network of industrial schools, mother and baby homes, and borstals. Isthis «simply» a paper on Magdalenlaundries or on the role of the modern state, and the relationshipbetween private and public initiative, nonprofit and public realms, the Church and the State, the State and itsindividualcitizens? MagdalenLaundries: the context of the study(CONT’D)

  7. The 1931 Carriganreport produced a unsettling picture of the state of child abuse, incest, single parenthood and infanticide in Ireland, recommending greater accountability, the criminalisation of a wider range of offences against women and girls, and the establishment of a formal borstal system for girls aged between 16 and 21 years. • The report wasignored, and insteadof a system of female borstals, women were passed to the Magdalen Laundries by the state either directly from reform schools or through the criminal justice system; others were committed by family members or priests or from county homes. • All Magdalen women experienced stigma and shame from their involvement; their status as Magdalens superseded their previous lives outside of the laundries, and they shared a common sense of institutionalised identity. MagdalenLaundries: the context of the study (CONT’D)

  8. The paperidentifies 4 maincriticalissues: • the blurring of accountability between the Magdalen Laundries and the state; • the irregularity of the financial relationships between state, institutions and the women; • the way in which the women were accounted for within the closed systems of the laundries; • the way in which these factors combined to rewrite social records and to create a new habitus for the state. Accounting and accountabilityissues

  9. Lack of clarity due to lack of properaccounting and control systems, or for willingness to hide a specific situation? How can the latter be proved? • Lack of clarity on the financialflowsbetweengovt and laundries: • Ad hoc and ex gratia nature of payments by governments • Payments for specificcaseswhenlaundriestook in womenwhowouldotherwisehavebeen in the case of the health service • MagdalenLaundriesweregranted the charitable status (ie, taxexemption) • Magdalenwomenwerenotbeneficiaries of social insurance, in spite of the activitiesperformed in the Laundries Whatis the mainmessage of thissection? And the relatedimplications? Blurring of accountability between the Magdalen Laundries and the state

  10. «The laundriesfilled a gap in state services», thusrelieving the state from spending on social/healthservices • The womenworked in the laundries, which, in turn, werean important source of income to the convents (until the advent of cheap washingmachines) • Howeverthe refusal of a «logic of the price» wasimplicit in that: • Subventions from the state to laundriesweresporadicand ad hoc • Womenwereonlyrecognized some «pocket money» and theywerenotseenasworkers, butasbeneficiaries of charity • Thus, the state couldthusdisclaimitsresponsibilities to themascitizens I finditdifficult to distinguishthissection from the previousone. I wouldprobably focus (even in the title) on the absence of a logic of the priceand build the discussionaroundthisand reflect on the distinctionbetweensection 5.1. and 5.2 Irregularity of the financial relationships between state, institutions and the women

  11. The entry to the laundries implied a change in identity, name, and virtually no access to former lives and relationships. • “A new symbolic capital dominated this strange new field, and the immediate imposition of its doxadisoriented and effectively imprisoned thousands of women whose habitus left them completely unprepared to challenge a power that seemed self-evident.” More description and discussion on symbolic capital, doxa and habitus? How women were accounted for within the closed systems of the laundries – financial relationships

  12. In spite of the relationships between the state and the Laundries, the former made significant efforts to distance itself from the operations of the laundries and to locate culpability for their failures in the localised hands of the religious orders • ‘These alleged events happened in most cases a considerable time ago in privately-run institutions and therefore the information available to us all is limited. However as far as we can establish on the facts available, the vast majority of women who went to these institutions went there voluntarily, or if they were minors, with the consent of their parents or guardians. ’ Secretary General of the Irish Department of Justice Politicalscientistswouldprobably talk about «blameavoidance» strategies. Again, thisisinteresting, butneeds more support. Moreover, whatis the link betweenthissubsection and the previousones? Isthis a consequence? How can they be linked? A new habitus for the state

  13. The description of the 4 problems in section 5 can probably be enriched, and the linksbetween the sub-sectionsclarified • Probablyrepresenting the variousaspects in a comprehensive model (what are the relationshipsbetween the 4 mentionedaspects?) • Enrichingsection 5 and probablyshorteningsection 4? • More generally: • Isthis (only) a story of accounting and accountability? • Or isit a story about the role of the state and otherinstitutions (nonprofitinstitutions/the Church) in delivering public services? • Itappears to be of greatinteresttoday, when public service delivery isbecomingincreasinglyfragmented and governmentsrely on a number of providers, includingother public entities, firms, PPPs, nonprofits, etc. • What are the implications of this for today’s public services (and accountabilitytherein)? Finalremarks

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