In post-independence Ireland, thousands of women found themselves
incarcerated in church-run laundries. For the first time, the state has
apologized for their treatment. These women were a diverse
group: former prostitutes, unwed mothers, orphans, homeless women,
convicts and industrial school transfers put in the care of the Catholic
Church.
Nuns ran the facilities, known as Magdalene Laundries, on a commercial basis, doing laundry for the state, private companies and individuals. But the inmates were never paid for the work, and all profit went to the church. The first of such places opened in the 1930s, and the last laundry in Ireland closed in 1996.
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/24/172740950/irish-women-emerge-from-shadows-of-national-shame
Nuns ran the facilities, known as Magdalene Laundries, on a commercial basis, doing laundry for the state, private companies and individuals. But the inmates were never paid for the work, and all profit went to the church. The first of such places opened in the 1930s, and the last laundry in Ireland closed in 1996.
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/24/172740950/irish-women-emerge-from-shadows-of-national-shame