Mistreatment in Psychiatric Institutions

First on assignment and then as a volunteer for the human rights group Mental Disability Rights International, Eugene Richards has documented the cruelty and mistreatment that the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled suffer in psychiatric facilities. Deprived of proper medical care, counseling, and education, residents of public psychiatric institutions stand little chance of living productively within these facilities.

Open Society recently sponsored a discussion about the use of photography in advocating for the rights of those with mental and developmental disabilities. The panel was part of the ongoing “Photography as Advocacy?” series, which explores how photography can be used to shape public policy and perception and to effect social change.

Listen to the full event above.