tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/stigmatization-104276/articlesstigmatization – The Conversation2022-08-14T13:14:54Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1861692022-08-14T13:14:54Z2022-08-14T13:14:54ZWhy it’s important to tell people that monkeypox is predominately affecting gay and bisexual men<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478989/original/file-20220812-2527-jwfwgd.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=444%2C22%2C2550%2C2097&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People inquire about receiving a monkeypox vaccine at an outdoor walk-in clinic in Montréal on July 23, 2022. The World Health Organization has declared the virus a global health emergency.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/why-it-s-important-to-tell-people-that-monkeypox-is-predominately-affecting-gay-and-bisexual-men" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Monkeypox virus, or MPXV, is an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0010141">emerging threat</a> to public health. The World Health Organization recently declared the current outbreak a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.12513">global public health emergency</a>.</p>
<p>For decades, several African countries have experienced ongoing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0007791">outbreaks of MPXV</a>, driven primarily by contact with animals and transmission within households. However, before last year, most people in Europe and North America had never even heard of the disease. That was until the current outbreak among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men.</p>
<h2>Debates over the epidemiology of MPXV</h2>
<p>Over the past several months, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/reducing-stigma.html">a controversy</a> has raged about whether it’s OK to say that the current MPXV outbreak is primarily affecting gay and bisexual men, and that it is primarily being spread through close personal contact, such as sex. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/metaphors-matter-why-changing-the-name-monkeypox-may-help-curb-the-discriminatory-language-used-to-discuss-it-185343">Metaphors matter: Why changing the name 'monkeypox' may help curb the discriminatory language used to discuss it</a>
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<p>As a social and behavioural epidemiologist working with marginalized populations, including gay and bisexual men, I believe it’s important that people know that sexual and gender minority men are the primary victims of this MPXV outbreak. I believe this knowledge will help us end the outbreak before it bridges into other communities. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478988/original/file-20220812-1300-s3i976.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Yellow ovals (monkeypox virus particles) spread over a blue cell background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478988/original/file-20220812-1300-s3i976.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478988/original/file-20220812-1300-s3i976.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478988/original/file-20220812-1300-s3i976.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478988/original/file-20220812-1300-s3i976.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478988/original/file-20220812-1300-s3i976.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=740&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478988/original/file-20220812-1300-s3i976.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=740&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478988/original/file-20220812-1300-s3i976.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=740&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Monkeypox particles in an infected cell.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(NIAID)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>For reference, more than <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMe2210673">90 per cent of cases in non-endemic countries</a> have been transmitted through intimate sexual contact, and the vast majority of cases are among gay men. Very few cases are linked to community transmission. </p>
<p>While these statistics are undisputed, some have feared that identifying sexual behaviour as the primary cause of current MPXV transmission <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2022/08/04/monkeypox-cases-spread-sti-std-stigma/10172342002/">would dampen the public health response</a>. Others have warned that connecting MPXV to an already stigmatized community will <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/07/26/1113713684/monkeypox-stigma-gay-community">worsen stigma towards gay sex</a>. </p>
<h2>Non-sexual transmission is possible, and a considerable threat</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/transmission.html">It is true that MPXV can transmit through more</a> casual contact and through fomites (<a href="https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-are-Fomites.aspx">inanimate objects</a> on which some microbes can survive, such as bed linens, towels or tables). </p>
<p>However, months into the current outbreak, we have not seen these routes emerge as important pathways of transmission. This may be due to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/monkeypox-transmission-has-changed-scientists-dont-know-why-airborne-1715276">changes in the fundamental transmission dynamic of MPXV</a> or due to enhanced cleaning procedures implemented in response to COVID-19 in places such as gyms and restrooms. </p>
<h2>Why it’s crucial to know MPXV affects gay and bisexual men</h2>
<p>Informing the public about MPXV is important because public opinion plays an important role in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.11623">shaping public health policies</a>, such as who gets access to vaccines and what interventions are used to stop disease transmission. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13539-5">recent study</a> conducted by my team aimed to demonstrate the importance of public health education by asking Canadians to participate in a discrete choice experiment. </p>
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<img alt="An arm with a tattoo of a flower and leaves being injected with a syringe" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478993/original/file-20220812-3855-u3hkeu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478993/original/file-20220812-3855-u3hkeu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478993/original/file-20220812-3855-u3hkeu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478993/original/file-20220812-3855-u3hkeu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478993/original/file-20220812-3855-u3hkeu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478993/original/file-20220812-3855-u3hkeu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478993/original/file-20220812-3855-u3hkeu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A man receives a monkeypox vaccine at an outdoor walk-in clinic in Montréal on July 23, 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
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<p>We asked participants to choose between two hypothetical public health programs across eight head-to-head comparisons. Descriptions for each hypothetical program identified the number of years of life gained by patients, the health condition it addressed and the population it was tailored for. </p>
<p>From our analyses of this data, we learned a lot about how the public wants public health dollars to be spent and how their knowledge and bias shapes these preferences. There were five major takeaways:</p>
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<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.11.022">People preferred interventions that added more years to participants’ life expectancy</a>. In fact, for one year of marginal life gained, there was a 15 per cent increase in the odds that participants chose that program. </p></li>
<li><p>We found that people tended to favour interventions that focused on treatment rather than prevention. While this approach is emotionally intuitive, large bodies of evidence suggest that <a href="https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/research/2009/09/cost-savings-and-cost-effectiveness-of-clinical-preventive-care.html">it is more cost-effective to prevent disease than to treat it</a>. As the old saying goes: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. </p></li>
<li><p>People generally preferred interventions for common chronic diseases — such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer — and were <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029747">less likely to favour interventions for behaviour-related conditions</a>, such as sexually transmitted infections. </p></li>
<li><p>People generally preferred programs focused on the general population as opposed to those tailored for key <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vhri.2018.05.004">marginalized populations</a>. In fact, people were least likely to prefer interventions tailored for sexual and gender minorities. </p></li>
<li><p>The bias against behavioural interventions and those tailored for key populations was overcome when the programs addressed a health condition that was widely understood to be linked to the population the program was tailored to. For example, people were more likely to support interventions for sexually transmitted infections when these interventions were tailored for people engaged in sex work or for gay and bisexual men.</p></li>
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<p>This study highlights why it is important to educate the public about health inequities. People are smarter, more pragmatic, and more compassionate than we give them credit for. If we take the time to share evidence with them about the challenges that stigmatized communities face, they will be more willing to support policies and efforts to address these challenges. </p>
<p>Ending MPXV quickly is critical, especially since the virus <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01907-y">has the potential to evolve</a> in ways that could make the disease more infectious. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s40249-022-01007-6">Protecting gay and bisexual men first, protects everyone</a>.</p>
<p>We should, of course, always be aware of the potential harms and the corrosive effects of stigma. However, in public health, honesty really is the best policy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186169/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kiffer George Card receives funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Canadian Research Coordinating Committee, Michael Smith Health Research BC, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. He is affiliated with Simon Fraser University's Faculty of Health Sciences, The Institute for Social Connection, The Community-based Research Centre, the GenWell Project, The Island Sexual Health Society, and the Mental Health and Climate Change Alliance.</span></em></p>Engaging in open and honest dialogue with the public to increase understanding of health inequities has never been more important.Kiffer George Card, Assistant Professor in Health Sciences, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1713372021-12-03T13:43:45Z2021-12-03T13:43:45ZPregnancy apps and online spaces fail to support individuals grieving a pregnancy loss – here’s what to do about it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/433780/original/file-20211124-23-z246zg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C713%2C7395%2C4238&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Social technologies perpetuate a single idea of what constitutes a pregnancy.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/social-distancing-during-covid-19-pandemic-royalty-free-image/1214516643">martin-dm/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Approximately <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/epirev/mxf006">1 in 4 pregnancies in the United States ends in loss</a>. Pregnancy loss, also referred to as miscarriage, is a common reproductive health complication. </p>
<p>Many experience this loss as a significant life event, with a “before” and an “after.” It can cause <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0002-9378(92)91839-3">depression and post-traumatic stress disorder</a>. Yet <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3178398">society largely stigmatizes and dismisses it</a> by not treating it as a loss that deserves to be grieved.</p>
<p>I <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=ju-VqbUAAAAJ">research the social implications of technology</a>. For the past several years, I’ve been investigating the intersection of pregnancy loss and social technologies. Search engines, social media, online support groups and pregnancy and fertility tracking apps are some of the technologies people use to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2016.01.008">manage pregnancies, share experiences or exchange social support</a>. </p>
<p>My recent research shows these technologies often do not account for pregnancy loss and, as a result, can cause re-traumatization and distress.</p>
<h2>Harmful designs and algorithms</h2>
<p>In a recent study, I conducted <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3449201">in-depth interviews with women in the U.S.</a> who had recently experienced pregnancy loss. I found that pregnancy tracking applications failed miserably in considering pregnancy losses. </p>
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<span class="caption">‘Oh, please stop.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/businesswoman-frustrated-by-bad-new-at-office-desk-royalty-free-image/1124417258">Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>A participant told me, “There’s no way to tell your app, ‘I had a miscarriage. Please stop sending me these updates,’ like, ‘This week, your baby’s the size of a banana or whatever.’ There’s no way to stop those.”</p>
<p>Similarly, advertising algorithms assumed all pregnancies lead to the birth of an alive and healthy baby. Another participant told me, “I was getting ads for maternity clothes. I was just like, ‘Oh, please stop.’”</p>
<p>The design of mobile apps tells a similar story. I conducted <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820984473">an analysis of 166 pregnancy-related apps</a> and found 72% do not account for pregnancy loss at all, 18% offer an option to report a loss without providing any support, and the remaining 10% passively link to outside sources.</p>
<p>Another tool people use during pregnancy and loss journeys are online support groups. While groups dedicated to loss can be sources of social support where people may find emotional validation, connect with others and feel seen and less alone, I found they can also foster invalidating and harmful experiences. </p>
<p>One participant reported seeing questions “like ‘Can you eat this certain thing while pregnant?’ You get some people who say, ‘Yes, I ate that all through pregnancy.’ Then you get some people who say, ‘I can’t believe you’re doing that to your body, that’s harmful for you.’” </p>
<p>Overall, the design features and algorithms that underpin content and interactions do real harm by perpetuating a single idea of what constitutes a pregnancy – one that is smooth and leads to a happy ending. By not accounting for pregnancy loss, I contend <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820984473">they contribute to its further stigmatization</a>. </p>
<p>My work shows how technology design reinforces stereotypes about experiences like pregnancy loss – and sustains social inequities like marginalization and stigmatization. This, in turn, makes it hard for those experiencing loss to find the resources and support they need.</p>
<h2>A more humane approach</h2>
<p>If you are someone who has experienced pregnancy loss, I am sorry for your loss. Please know that you are not alone. I hope this article helps validate and make visible some of your frustrating experiences.</p>
<p>If you know someone who has experienced a pregnancy loss, know that the harms and challenges I described above are only some of the frustrations they may face. Acknowledge their loss. Ask how you may be able to support them. Get them meals, offer to pet sit or babysit for them, listen to them, sit in their sorrow with them. Know that holidays and anniversaries tend to be tough. Do not say “you will get pregnant again.” Finally, remember that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people also experience pregnancy and loss. </p>
<p>If you are a designer, developer or someone who makes decisions about products and advertising algorithms, I hope this research illustrates some of the real harms users may experience as a result of using products to manage intimate personal experiences like pregnancies. Please consider designing products that consider the full range of pregnancy and other human experiences. Remember that considering pregnancy loss as an outcome does not mean finding other ways to profit from your users’ loss and grief.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 140,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171337/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nazanin Andalibi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows technologies like pregnancy apps do not account for pregnancy loss 72% of the time, causing real harm to users.Nazanin Andalibi, Assistant Professor of Information, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1695182021-10-20T14:31:11Z2021-10-20T14:31:11ZWe still stigmatize mental illness, and that needs to stop<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426762/original/file-20211015-25-9le1hs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C33%2C7315%2C4803&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People with mental illness face stigmatization because of three things: the creation of stereotypes, the internalization of prejudices and acts of discrimination</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many people struggle with mental illness — <a href="https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/wp-content/uploads/drupal/2016-06/Investing_in_Mental_Health_FINAL_Version_ENG.pdf">in any given year, one in five people in Canada experience a mental health problem or illness</a> — but it is still heavily stigmatized. This seems to happen because of three things: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2005.04.004">the creation of stereotypes, the internalization of prejudices and acts of discrimination</a>. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2011.00394.x">stereotype is a mental shortcut</a> we use to categorize individuals. When stereotypes are integrated into the way we think, they are often used to judge or evaluate people. </p>
<p>That’s what we call <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2011.00394.x">prejudice</a>. And <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2011.00394.x">discrimination</a> stems from these two processes and is generally expressed through behaviours (like refusing to help someone in need because they seem to be mentally unstable). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/structural-stigma-against-mental-illness-is-baked-in-to-our-health-system-and-that-affects-care-153943">Structural stigma against mental illness is 'baked in' to our health system, and that affects care</a>
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<p>The stigmatization of mental illnesses can affect a person’s life in important ways <a href="https://doi.org/10.1100/2012/516358">from job opportunities and apartment seeking to the capacity to obtain insurance and health care</a>. <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10488-012-0430-z">Public stigma is systemic</a> and hinders social equity by accentuating power imbalances. It also affects people by inducing <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/070674371205700804">self-stigma</a> — the internalization of associated prejudices. </p>
<p>When applied to mental illness, self-stigma can have a negative effect on <a href="https://selfstigma.psych.iastate.edu/selfstigma-information/">self-esteem, halt the pursuit of life goals and often decreases likelihood to seek psychological treatment</a>. </p>
<p>Needless to say, stigmatization has a definite impact on individuals struggling with their mental illness.</p>
<h2>What creates stigma?</h2>
<p>We tend to stigmatize mental illness because we are led to have false, unfounded and simplistic assumptions about the population living with them. </p>
<p>A common misconception is that people living with mental illnesses should be feared or avoided due to their potentially dangerous nature. In reality, individuals living with mental illness are <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2018001/article/54977-eng.htm">twice as likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators</a>. </p>
<p>Although the association between mental illnesses and <a href="https://dictionary.apa.org/dangerousness">dangerousness</a> is usually false, this assumption can lead to <a href="https://www.poverty.ac.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/WP%20Methods%20No.15%20-%20Mental%20Health%20%28Payne%202010%29.pdf">social exclusion</a>. </p>
<p>Stigmatization and misconceptions often <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK384923/">stem from a lack of education and misinformation</a>. </p>
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<img alt="A woman rests her head on someone's sholder." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426763/original/file-20211015-17-18qor8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/426763/original/file-20211015-17-18qor8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426763/original/file-20211015-17-18qor8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426763/original/file-20211015-17-18qor8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426763/original/file-20211015-17-18qor8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426763/original/file-20211015-17-18qor8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/426763/original/file-20211015-17-18qor8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Stigmatization of mental illnesses can affect a person’s life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Kulli Kittus/Unsplash)</span></span>
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<h2>Media’s impact on mental illness</h2>
<p>This raises the question as to where misconceptions about mental illness come from, and why so many people still hold them. </p>
<p>Often, the representations of people with mental illness we have are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730600755889">based on portrayals from film or television</a> which frequently exaggerate stereotypes and negative attributes for the sake of entertainment. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84TouqfIsiI">2016 movie <em>Split</em></a>, for example, portrays a character struggling with dissociative identity disorder. Not only does this movie vilify individuals with dissociative identity disorder, but <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/movie-split-harms-people-with-dissociative-identity-disorder">the personalities of the character are also mocked</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-tvs-troubling-storylines-for-characters-with-a-mental-illness-81456">Friday essay: TV's troubling storylines for characters with a mental illness</a>
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<p>Similarly, news articles and reporting are known to <a href="https://integrativelifecenter.com/wellness-blog/media-and-the-portrayal-of-mental-illness-disorders/">portray mental illness in stereotypical and dramatic ways to capture the public’s attention</a>. We’ve all been reminded recently of how Britney Spears’ 2007 breakdown was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/arts/music/britney-spears-documentary-media.htm">publicized to the extreme</a> — contributing to public stigma about mental illness and fuelling debates over her ability to control her own life. </p>
<p>Because media outlets constitute a major source of information on mental illnesses, wrongful or inaccurate portrayals become the model we integrate as we learn about them. In fact, a recent study demonstrated that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-018-1608-9">negative social media posts and news reports increase stigmatizing attitudes</a>. The study also indicated that the opposite is equally true — media outlets can reduce stigma by sharing positive reports and posts about mental illness. </p>
<p>It’s important to hold media accountable in the way it depicts mental illness and recognize its value as a tool to promote awareness and rectify misconceptions. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/84TouqfIsiI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Trailer for the movie Split.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>How to start destigmatizing mental illness</h2>
<p>There are multiple ways to start destigmatizing mental illness. From <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.schbul.a006865">protesting wrongful depictions</a> (like the <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/britney-spears-thanks-freebritney-movement-freeing-her-conservatorship-n1280771">#FreeBritney movement</a>) and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.schbul.a006865">improving education on the topic</a> in order to correct implicit biases. </p>
<p>Taking time to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.schbul.a006865">interact with individuals living with mental illness</a> through volunteering in shelters or hospitals for example, can also help decrease the stigmatization we hold by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.504">reducing our fear or discomfort and increasing empathy</a>. </p>
<p>We must reconsider how we refer to mental illness in our everyday language — the use of <a href="https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/blog/why-language-we-use-describe-mental-health-matters">terms like crazy, psycho, insane or retarded</a> in casual conversations are harmful. These terms not only contribute to the stigma, but also trivialize the suffering of people living with mental illnesses.</p>
<p>Mental illness rarely presents itself in the same way from one person to the other, so <a href="http://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/minds-matter-report-consultation-human-rights-mental-health-and-addictions/part-b-what-we-heard-7-stereotypes-about-people-mental-health-or-addiction-disabilities#_ftn41">remaining critical of sweeping general statements helps in resisting stereotypes</a>. Supporting others in challenging their internalized stigma by <a href="https://makeitok.org/what-to-say/">addressing language, educating ourselves and sharing the knowledge we acquire</a> helps in spreading social awareness. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381818/original/file-20210201-13-1g0n3ld.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://theconversation.com/ca/podcasts">Click here to listen to Don’t Call Me Resilient</a></span>
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<p>Even as researchers and future psychologists, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09540260701278929">we are not immune to integrated stereotypes</a> that contribute to the stigmatization of mental illness. Just like everyone else, we must <a href="https://www.camh.ca/en/driving-change/addressing-stigma">remain conscious of our own biases</a> and work on deconstructing the automatic and often unconscious judgements we make about mental illness. Professionals in the field need to remain informed about <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32607603/">updated evidence-based treatments</a>, while researchers must work on communicating relevant research results to the public in accessible ways. </p>
<p>It’s important to recognize that change doesn’t happen overnight. This, however, does not mean it is a lost cause. </p>
<iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/593ba323-0be6-42b4-a9f2-6d785595cc81?dark=true"></iframe>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-572" class="tc-infographic" height="100" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/572/661898416fdc21fc4fdef6a5379efd7cac19d9d5/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169518/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Valerie A. Lapointe receives funding from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC) and the Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada (CRSH). She is affiliated with the psychology and the sexology department of the University of Quebec in Montreal. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nessa Ghassemi-Bakhtiari is affiliated with the psychology department at the University of Quebec in Montreal. </span></em></p>In any given year, one in five people in Canada will personally experience a mental health problem or illness. Despite this number there’s still massive stigmatization.Valerie A. Lapointe, PhD student in psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Nessa Ghassemi-Bakhtiari, PhD Student, Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1588612021-05-24T13:30:55Z2021-05-24T13:30:55ZPolicing and evicting people living in encampments will not solve homelessness in Canada<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399855/original/file-20210510-18-1mpmylc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C5%2C3413%2C2551&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Police clear a homeless camp in Montréal's east end May 3, 2021. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/homelessness-101/how-many-people-are-homeless-canada">Research conservatively estimates that 35,000 Canadians</a> experience homelessness on any given night, with an average of one person sleeping outdoors for every five individuals staying in a shelter. </p>
<p>As those numbers continue to increase during the pandemic, there is a corresponding increase in <a href="https://www.make-the-shift.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/A-National-Protocol-for-Homeless-Encampments-in-Canada.pdf">policing of encampments at the municipal level</a>. In the past month alone, there has been media coverage around <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-rv-campers-ordered-off-streets-1.6031878">ticketing to clear RV camps in Vancouver</a> and the use of police officers to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/hochelaga-homeless-encampment-1.6011462">enforce camp evictions in both Montréal</a> and <a href="https://www.cp24.com/news/clearing-of-homeless-encampment-in-liberty-village-halted-after-standoff-with-community-1.5434741">Toronto</a>.</p>
<p>As an occupational therapist with front-line experience working on a community mental health team in Toronto, I have witnessed peoples’ daily battles with discrimination, surveillance and policing. And my experiences have taught me that compassion in Canada often depends on who you are or how you are perceived. </p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/99s08">Ontario Safe Streets Act</a> is meant to keep citizens safe from “aggressive solicitation,” but in practice, <a href="https://theconversation.com/ontarios-safe-streets-act-will-cost-lives-amid-the-coronavirus-pandemic-135665">enforcement of this act targets</a> those who are visibly poor.</p>
<p>A woman I worked with was ticketed several times under this act. She was trying to stop engaging in sex work and was panhandling, thinking it could be a safer way to make money. She told me: “Police are here to keep people like you safe, not people like me.”</p>
<p>This is the reality for many Canadians experiencing poverty But, aren’t we all citizens, deserving of safety and protection?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People around homeless camp, garbage bags in the front and portable toilets in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399853/original/file-20210510-5613-s4fg0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399853/original/file-20210510-5613-s4fg0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399853/original/file-20210510-5613-s4fg0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399853/original/file-20210510-5613-s4fg0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399853/original/file-20210510-5613-s4fg0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399853/original/file-20210510-5613-s4fg0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399853/original/file-20210510-5613-s4fg0h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">People wait for police to arrive to clear a homeless camp in the east end of Montréal on May 3.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Breaking the law and various kinds of enforcement</h2>
<p>Joe Hermer, a sociologist at the University of Toronto, has spent his career studying the survival strategies and policing of vulnerable people. He is now leading a project called <a href="http://policinghomelessness.ca/"><em>COVID-19 Policing and Homelessness Initiative</em></a> to study how municipal bylaws, such as anti-loitering and anti-camping laws, work together to criminalize being homeless.</p>
<p>“A homeless person simply could not exist in public space without breaking one of these laws,” says Hermer. “Individual offences may seem harmless, but if you view how they are actively enforced, it actually ends up being like the old vagrancy laws.”</p>
<p>Historically, <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/blog/mapping-vagrancy-type-offences-municipal-laws">vagrancy laws made it a crime</a> to be jobless or homeless. The laws were written in vague terms that allowed the state to regulate people based on their income level, sexual orientation and race. To this day, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/homelessness/reports-shelter-2016.html">racialized communities are overrepresented</a> among people experiencing homelessness in Canada due in part to compounding experiences of stigma and discrimination.</p>
<p>Preliminary findings from Hermer’s study show that 75 per cent of Canadians live in a jurisdiction with laws that he describes as “neo-vagrancy” laws. And these issues are not limited to large cities.</p>
<p>“It’s civil society enforcement, too, because (police are) responding to complaints,” says Patti Fairfield, executive director of Ne-Chee Friendship Centre in Kenora, Ont.</p>
<p>Fairfield says the people of Kenora will “open their wallets and give” to people in need, but there is still a pervasive not-in-my-backyard philosophy that drives people to complain about things such as seeing men from the local emergency shelter playing street hockey.</p>
<p>In Toronto, the city’s new <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/news/city-of-toronto-supporting-people-living-in-encampments-with-safe-supportive-indoor-space/">Pathway Inside program</a> has been <a href="https://nowtoronto.com/news/housing-activists-toronto-shelter-hotel-program-for-encampment-residents-isnt-a-solution">criticized for keeping shelter hotel rooms empty for people living in four of the largest and most visible encampments</a>, while people who want to be indoors are left waiting. People in the parks say <a href="https://nowtoronto.com/news/toronto-mobilizes-parks-ambassadors-to-clear-encampments">the use of trespass notices</a> and bylaw enforcement leaves them feeling vulnerable and threatened.</p>
<h2>Keeping rooms empty</h2>
<p>Ivan Drury, a political organizer in British Columbia and a member of the Red Braid Alliance for Decolonial Socialism, says the same strategy of keeping rooms empty exclusively for encampment residents is a longstanding practice of the B.C. government.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Policing people out of (encampments) into a shelter is not about taking people off the street, because most people are not in camps. Most people are scattered into terrible congregate shelters, which in our moment of the pandemic are more unsafe than being outside.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Social scientist Eric Weismann, who has lived experience of homelessness, says that people underestimate <a href="https://www.homelesshub.ca/sites/default/files/cenfdthy.pdf">the mental-health impacts of being homeless</a>. He describes the cruelty of the promise of support and housing that simply doesn’t exist or exists with a long waitlist, as well as the inability to feel safe due to the constant policing.</p>
<p>“You’re in survival, anxiety mode all the time,” he said. “It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, making bad choices. It’s not like you can make good choices. Good choices (like being housed) are not there.”</p>
<p>Drawing from his own experiences couch surfing and living on the street, Weismann believes that “if we really want people to transcend these horrible encampment experiences, we need to support them, and organize them, and give people the safety and security to address their needs; to be able to sit back and not worry.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Drone shot of tent camp in park in Vancouver's Strathcona Park. Tents amid baseball field" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399856/original/file-20210510-18-15mahpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399856/original/file-20210510-18-15mahpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399856/original/file-20210510-18-15mahpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399856/original/file-20210510-18-15mahpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399856/original/file-20210510-18-15mahpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399856/original/file-20210510-18-15mahpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399856/original/file-20210510-18-15mahpl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tents and other structures are seen in an aerial view of a homeless encampment at Strathcona Park in Vancouver, B.C. as city workers erect fencing after a 10 a.m. deadline for people to vacate the park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Drury expresses concern that too much organizing in encampments could lead to more regulation and policing of the people staying in them. Advocating for better support in the encampments should not be about making encampments an “acceptable part of Canada’s housing continuum” but rather about making the camps as humane as possible until permanent housing options are in place.</p>
<p>Both Drury and Weismann agree that moving forward, a key component in any planning around encampments is the voice of people with lived experience. It is clear the go-to response of policing is not working.</p>
<p>“Sweeping campgrounds is worse than somebody needing to sleep in one,” says Weismann. “I don’t want people to have to stay in camps for very long, but when people do need to stay in camps, I want the camps they’re staying in to be supportive. The primary concern is for the people living in these places. Not the city. Not the neighbours.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158861/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amie Tsang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A key component in any planning around encampments is the voice of people with lived experience. It is clear the go-to response of policing is not working.Amie Tsang, Dalla Lana Fellow, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.