Media portrayals don’t help misconceptions about disorders such as bipolar, schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder. So what do these terms actually mean?
Stigma continues to inform legal, social and cultural attitudes towards sex work and remains a barrier to health, human rights and justice. Developing stigma indicators is one step towards change.
Consensual sex work, like non-commercial sex, mostly happens behind closed doors. Yet stigma toward and ignorance about sex workers makes people panic when we try to talk about reform.
The number of new HIV-positive cases has sharply declined – in most parts of the country. Nonurban areas, particularly in the South, are showing sharp increases. Why?
Critics have portrayed ECT as a form of medical abuse. Yet many psychiatrists, and more importantly, patients, consider it to be safe and effective. Few medical treatments have such disparate images.
People with cancer are exposed to many, often misrepresented, ideas about cancer. These can induce stress and even shame for the sufferer who might feel they’ve done something wrong.
Today’s violence and prejudice against people with disabilities goes back to the practice of institutionalization, which started in Europe and the United States a century ago.
A South African Olympic silver medallist achieved something remarkable, especially after testing positive for methamphetamine use in 2012. But care needs to be taken in how this narrative is framed.
Efforts to avoid stigmatising people from Muslim backgrounds seem to be coming at the unexpected cost of adding stigma to those with mental health issues.
Associate Professor, Public Health & Social Policy; Special Advisor Health Research, Office of the Vice-President Research and Innovation, University of Victoria
Interim Director, UWA Public Policy Institute; Associate Professor & Programme Co-ordinator (Masters of Public Policy), The University of Western Australia