Virginia Gonzalez Torres

Virginia Gonzalez Torres is a human rights activist who is Mexico's leading advocate for the mentally ill. [ [htttp://www.mdri.org/media-nyt.htm] ] She has been called the Dorothea Dix of Mexico.

Born into a wealthy family that owned a pharmacy chain, Virginia began a volunteer women's program at Sayago hospital in the 1980s. In her investigative role, she has sneaked into. More than once she has been beaten up at institutions when she was discovered inside hiding in the dark.

In 1992 Virginia helped make men's mental hospital Ramirez Moreno infamous by filming conditions inside. In 1995 she helped draft a new mental health law.

ee also

* Mental Disability Rights International

References

* [http://www.mdri.org/media-nyt.htm] 'The Global Willowbrook' by Michael Winerip, New York Times, January 16, 2000