Beyond Criminal Justice: Civil Redress, Memory Activism, and Survivor-Led Justice

• In Event: Victimological futures: Exploring new approaches to victimisation and justice

Abstract

In the absence of criminal accountability, civil justice mechanisms have become essential for survivors of institutional sexual violence to access redress. Survivors of Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries - where girls and women were detained, subjected to forced labour, and exposed to a range of psychological and physical abuses - have faced legal barriers, including statutes of limitations and state reluctance to prosecute religious institutions. As a result, survivors have turned to public memory activism and transitional justice frameworks to challenge institutional erasure and demand recognition.

This paper explores how survivors are mobilizing civil justice by using Sites of Conscience, oral history projects, and public testimony as alternative avenues of redress. By framing memory as justice, this research argues for expanding victimological futures beyond punitive models, advocating for survivor-led, participatory, and reparative approaches. Situating the Magdalene Laundries within global movements for transitional justice, this paper demonstrates how memory activism can serve as critical justice mechanisms when the criminal system fails.

Author

• Jennifer O'Mahoney, South East Technological University