Asylum records show that in the early history of the Magdalene movement, many women entered and left the institutions of their own accord, sometimes repeatedly. Lu Ann De Cunzo wrote in her book, Reform, Respite, Ritual: An Archaeology of Institutions; The Magdalene Society of Philadelphia, 1800-1850,[12] that the women in Philadelphia's asylum "sought a refuge and a respite from disease, the prison or almshouse, unhappy family situations, abusive men and dire economic circumstances.

In May 2009, the Commission to Inquire into Child
Abuse released a 2,000-page report recording claims
from hundreds of Irish residents that they were
physically, sexually, or emotionally abused as children
between the 1930s and the 1990s in a network of
state-administered and church-run residential schools
meant to care for the poor, the vulnerable and the
unwanted. [18] The alleged abuse was by nuns, priests
and non-clerical staff and helpers. [19] The allegations
of abuse cover many Catholic (Magdalene), Protestant
(Bethany) and State-run Irish Industrial schools