The Magdalene Laundries cast a long, dark shadow over the relationship many Irish women have with sex, transforming it into something shameful and guilt-ridden. While the last laundry closed in 1996, this shadow remains and is kept alive by a powerful force: Ruhama, an organisation for women affected by sex work. Sex remains something of a dirty concept in Irish society. Though it is in the margins of discourse, it is at the centre of most people’s minds. Why is it, in an age of hyper-sexuality, that Catholic sexual teaching still permeates national school sex education? Why is it that such teaching features in our … Continue reading The Church’s Lingering Shadows on Sex Work in Ireland