She was a pioneering figure in Italian psychiatry, distinguishing herself as the first woman to hold prominent positions in both academic and professional fields. Her career was distinguished by her commitment to promoting mental health and gender equality.
Born in 1925, this year marks the centenary of her birth. She was named after her maternal grandmother, Nereide Tibi, originally from Macomer and married to Gustavo Salmon, a Jewish entrepreneur who moved to Sardinia. She spent her childhood with her maternal grandparents, having lost her father at a young age. She graduated in Medicine and specialized in Neurology and Psychiatry, fields characterized by a strong male predominance at the time. The difficulties she encountered due to gender prejudice did not hinder the professional path she had chosen.
She was the first woman to found and direct a psychiatric clinic in Italy and to be appointed to the Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Cagliari in 1978. Founder of the Italian Society of Forensic Psychiatry, she also strengthened the Italian Society of Psychiatry, becoming its Vice President in the 1980s, remaining its only woman for years. She also represented Italy on international scientific missions.
She has published over 450 scientific articles and written works exploring Sardinian identity, such as “The Coral Island,” and femicide, coining the term “muliericidio.”
Politically and socially engaged, she has dedicated her life to the fight against gender violence, emphasizing the importance of a language that represents women and their experiences.
She had a lasting impact on the training of new generations of psychiatrists and directed important psychiatric institutes.
She has received numerous awards for his work, including the Gold Medal from the President of the Republic for his book on Sardinian identity and the Honor of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.
She died on January 19, 2017.
Her indomitable spirit and strong, determined character, perhaps influenced by the modern and stimulating environment she lived in with her grandfather Salmon, a patron and art lover, allowed her to overcome the obstacles inherent in her status as a woman, challenging beliefs and prejudices and succeeding in a world, the healthcare sector, dominated by men.
She was an exceptional psychiatrist who treated each case with individual attention, evaluating the individual and their needs. She was also a great scholar of the mechanisms of society. In 1970, she was appointed to the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the Phenomena of Crime in Sardinia. Particularly important were her insights into the gender inequality, muliericide (a neologism she preferred to feminicide), and the causes of violence and depression resulting from job loss and the economic crisis.
A woman of vast culture, she passionately studied Antonio Gramsci and was among the founders of the Institute named after him, of which she served as president for over twenty years. During the last ten years of her life, she also served as president of the literary prize dedicated to Francesco Alziator, an intellectual and writer from Cagliari.