{"id":205,"date":"2014-12-11T14:55:18","date_gmt":"2014-12-11T14:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/law-news\/?p=205"},"modified":"2014-12-12T14:39:11","modified_gmt":"2014-12-12T14:39:11","slug":"irish-symphysiotomy-redress-scheme-an-exercise-in-bullying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/law-news\/irish-symphysiotomy-redress-scheme-an-exercise-in-bullying\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish Symphysiotomy Redress Scheme an \u2018exercise in bullying\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kent Lecturer in Law M\u00e1ire\u00e1d Enright describes the Irish Government\u2019s Symphysiotomy Redress Scheme as an \u201can exercise in bullying and opportunism\u201d in an article published by the Irish Examiner<\/em> today.<\/p>\n

In the article entitled \u2018State continues to inflict pain on symphysiotomy victims<\/a>\u2019, Ms Enright says: \u2018The State has offered inadequate redress to symphysiotomy victims and these women continue to suffer human rights abuses.<\/p>\n

\u2018This is not a decent redress scheme. It is an exercise in bullying and opportunism. It is a source of distress to a group of wounded, brave and persistent women who deserve much better.\u2019<\/p>\n

Symphysiotomy, a surgical procedure to widen the pelvis, was performed on at least 1,500 women in Ireland without their consent, in the mid to late 20th century.<\/p>\n

In an earlier post on the Human Rights in Ireland<\/em> blog, addressing the same redress scheme, Ms Enright described the 20-day time limit prescribed for women to make their applications as “unconscionable”.<\/p>\n

In her post, entitled \u2018What\u2019s (Still) Wrong with the Symphysiotomy Redress Scheme<\/a>\u2019, Ms Enright wrote: \u2018Women had 20 working days to apply. This is the shortest time limit in the history of any state redress scheme.\u2019<\/p>\n

Ms Enright wrote an opinion piece for the Irish Times<\/em> in October arguing that symphysiotomy survivors deserved improved redress<\/a>. She is also quoted in an article published in The Guardian<\/em> entitled ‘Symphysiotomy \u2013 Ireland\u2019s brutal alternative to caesareans<\/a>‘ where she asks ‘if medical staff were negligent in using a procedure so inherently defective that any doctor should have realised it was wrong’.<\/p>\n

Ms Enright has research interests in law and religion, feminism, and citizenship. For more information about her publications and research projects (including the establishment of an Irish Feminist Judgments Project), visit her staff profile page<\/a>.<\/p>\n