This assignment will then lead on to stigma with Goffman’s (1986) theory being discussed, which will then follow on to individuals with a mental illness experiencing stigmatisation, where the assignment will discuss schizophrenia and the impact stigma has on those individuals. This essay …show more content…
The Equality Act (2010) sets out guidelines which employers and the public can access to ensure that people that are discriminated against are protected by the law and complaints can be dealt with.
Link and Phelan (2001) suggests that individuals who experience stigma are most likely to be discriminated against and will go through four stages of the process, according to Gonzalez-Torres, et al (2007) the four stages are defined as “Labelling, negative stereotyping, separation from other’s and loss of status and discrimination” (Gonzalez-Torres, et al 2007, pg 1).
A particular group of individuals that experience discrimination are people with mental health disorders (Henderson, et al 2014), Henderson et al (2014) suggests that in England discrimination is high for services users experiencing mental illness. Thornicoft (2006) states that discriminating against a person with a mental illness will have a negative impact on their well-being and are most likely to stop doing things they enjoy, and most likely will not seek job opportunities. This kind of impact will result in isolation for a person as well as finding relationships difficult to establish so they are less likely to marry and …show more content…
364).
Goffman (2009) the founder of the term stigma explains that there are 3 types of categories that stigma relates to, one being “deformities of the physical appearance”, (Goffman,2009, pg 4) and another being when a person is seen as “weak will, domineering or having unnatural passions” (Goffman, 2009 pg 4).
Examples that Goffman (2009) gives are people with mental illnesses, people that are imprisoned, people that use drugs or substance abuse, and the unemployed, as well as people who are attracted to the same sex are most likely to be stigmatised, Goffman (2009) also suggests that the 3rd group of stigmatisation is race, nation and religion and that stigma has a strong relationship with people’s