Archbishop condemns treatment of female prisoners in Ireland
Summary of story from the Irish Independent, November 21, 2011
The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, has condemned prison authorities for forcing women prisoners to strip naked to be searched for drugs in the presence of male prison officers.
His comments follow a recent visiting committee report which highlighted a number of ongoing problems in the prison system.
Speaking during his homily at the reopening of St Peter’s Church in Little Bray, Archbishop Martin stressed that more needs to be done to ensure the rights of prisoners are respected.
“The recent reports about events in our women’s prison are worrying in themselves, but more worrying because the concerns of responsible citizens appointed in all our name to monitor standards in our prisons seem to be simply rejected offhand by the authorities.
“In a democratic system what goes on behind the walls of our prisons is a matter of public interest and must always be open to appropriate yet independent public scrutiny,” the Archbishop stressed.
It is a shame that no women organisation has spotted the problem before. Good for the Archbishop, I hope somebody make enough noise and the practice stop.