Abstract
AbstractThis paper examines the role of apology as a vehicle for shame management in the aftermath of historical institutional abuse (HIA). It draws on extensive fieldwork in Ireland, North and South, including: archival research on public apologies; focus groups with members of the public and with victims; and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. It focuses on the complexities of apology in managing ‘shame’ and ‘self-blame’ for those constituencies affected by HIA – survivors, apologisers, institutions and wider society. Drawing on the notions of ‘shame’ and ‘shame management’, it proposes an interdependent model in order to better understand the function and meaning of apology in such contexts. In addressing the multi-layered relational dimensions of shame surrounding HIA, apology is presented as a potential means of invoking: (a) truth for victims; (b) accountability of offenders; (c) leadership of institutions; and (d) the re-imagination of national identity. The paper concludes by examining the additional performative aspects of shaming and the emotional expression of remorse in establishing proximity to historical wrongdoing.
Highlights
The Magdalene Laundries have cast a long shadow over Irish life over our sense of who we are
This paper examines the role of apology as a vehicle for shame management in the aftermath of historical institutional abuse (HIA)
It focuses on the complexities of apology in managing ‘shame’ and ‘self-blame’ for those constituencies affected by HIA – survivors, apologisers, institutions and wider society
Summary
The Magdalene Laundries have cast a long shadow over Irish life over our sense of who we are. Drawing on the intersecting literatures on ‘apologies’ and ‘shame’, this paper examines the potential of predominantly public apologies to address the complexities of shame surrounding historical institutional abuse and engage the multiple constituencies impacted by the legacy of HIA – victims/survivors, perpetrators, the institutions of Church and State and wider society – at the interpersonal, institutional and societal levels. As discussed above, ‘shame’ was integral to the functioning of the institutions and the culture that sustained them Drawing on this broader framework, the paper argues that apology emerges as a focal mechanism for both expressing genuine remorse for wrongdoing and simultaneously displacing or managing shame for those constituencies affected by HIA – survivors, perpetrators, institutions as well as wider society.
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