More than 30 years since the last Mother and Baby Home closed in the north, an independent panel has finally addressed the needs of the women who were sent to the institutions and their children.
Survivors have spoken for years about the treatment they received in the homes and Magdalene Laundries.
Many said they were treated as 'fallen women' and suffered cruelty at the hands of religious orders and others who ran the homes.
Their suffering was compounded by the indifference many experienced from medical staff during pregnancy and birth.
Women said they were given no choice but to have their children put up for adoption. The pain of that separation remains very strong, including among families who have since been reunited.
The landmark Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry, which published its report in January 2017, found children were subjected to serious sexual, physical and emotional abuse over decades at residential homes.
Any inquiry into Mother and Baby Homes and Magdalene Laundries will be expected to properly investigate how women and their babies were treated.
Crucially, it must also investigate allegations that mothers were either forced to agree to adoptions or offered no choice at all.
Survivors have said many children were trafficked back and forth across the border, with some calling for criminal investigations.
Others have spoken of the serious problems they have encountered in trying to access their birth and adoption documents.
One of the most striking recommendations by the Truth Recovery panel calls on survivors to be given immediate redress payments.
All those involved in the running of the institutions, including religious orders, will likely be expected to make a sizeable contribution to victims' compensation.
It is now up to Executive ministers to pass the report's recommendations as quickly as they can.
Many women who lived in the homes and laundries have already died without ever experiencing justice or redress.
Survivors cannot afford a repeat of the 2017 Stormont collapse, and the three-year suspension of power-sharing, which saw victims of institutional abuse wait years for a redress scheme.
The last Mother and Baby Home closed in 1990. The last Magdalene Laundry closed in 1984.
Victims should not be expected to wait any longer.
Read more: Mother and Baby redress scheme must be swift and 'show a bit of empathy', survivor says
