Stigmatisation refers to the process by which a person or group is negatively evaluated, excluded or discriminated against due to certain characteristics, behaviours or belonging. It is a social mechanism in which people are stigmatised on the basis of prejudices, stereotypes or social norms.
Stigmatisation can take various forms, such as the stigmatisation of people with mental illness, sexual orientation, gender identity, HIV infection, addictions, physical disabilities or infectious diseases. Stigmatisation can lead to affected people being discriminated against, isolated or excluded. It can also have a negative impact on the self-esteem, mental health and quality of life of those affected.
It is important to emphasise that stigmatisation is a social construction and is not based on actual individual characteristics. It is often based on prejudices, stereotypes and a lack of understanding or knowledge about the group or person concerned. Combating stigmatisation requires raising awareness, educating and reducing prejudice in order to create a more inclusive and equitable society.
4 steps of stigmatisation
To explain the occurrence of stigmatisation, we refer to the definition by Link and Phelan (2001). They assume that stigmatisation arises in four steps.
1
Affected persons or groups are perceived as different. This difference is labelled.
Nowadays, people are often perceived as different because of their skin tone, intelligence, sexual preferences or gender.
2
(Cultural) prejudices are linked to the label. The people concerned are often considered to have negative characteristics, which they usually do not actually fulfil.
3
The people concerned are categorised into different groups. This makes it possible to differentiate between "them" and "we".
4
The labelled persons concerned are treated worse. They are thought of more negatively and more value is placed on their own person.
Literature
Link, B. G. & Phelan, J. C. (2001). Conceptualizing Stigma. Annual Review of Sociology, 27(1), 363–385. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.27.1.363 
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