ST Discrimination

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Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of people and groups based on characteristics such
as gender, race, age, or sexual orientation (American Psychological Association, 2019).
Types of Discrimination
Discrimination can occur in the following forms:
1. Direct Discrimination - under similar circumstances, when a person with a protected

characteristic is treated less favorably than others, it is direct discrimination.
2. Indirect Discrimination - if there is a rule or policy in the workplace that puts you at a
disadvantage compared to others, it may be considered indirect discrimination.
3. Discrimination by Association - if you are maltreated because someone you know or are
associated with has a protected characteristic, this may be construed as discrimination by
association.
4. Discrimination by Perception - receiving unfair treatment because someone thinks you
belong to a group with protected characteristics, you may be experiencing discrimination by
perception.
Harassment
Harassment comprises unwanted behavior that makes another person feel offended,
humiliated, or intimidated. Unwanted behavior could include physical gestures, abuse, jokes, spoken
or written words, or offensive emails and expressions.
Victimization
When a person is poorly treated or subjected to a detriment because they complained about
discrimination or supported another victim of discrimination, this may be considered victimization
9(Einna, 2018).
Dealing with discrimination
Finding healthy ways to deal with discrimination is essential for your physical health and your mental
well-being.
 Focus on your strengths.

 Seek support systems
 Family and friends can also help counteract the toll that microaggressions and other
examples of daily discrimination can take.
 Your family and friends can also be helpful if you feel you've been the victim of discrimination
in areas such as housing, employment, or education.
 Get involved. Support doesn’t have to come from people in your family or circle of friends.
 Help yourself think clearly
 Try to check in with your body before reacting
 Don’t dwell. When you’ve experienced discrimination, it can be tough to shake it off.
Stigma
Stigma involves discrimination or negative attitudes against someone based on a
characteristic such as a mental illness, health condition, or disability. Social stigmas can also be
related to other characteristics, including gender, sexuality, race, religion, and culture (Caddell,
2020).
Types of Stigma
The stigma associated with mental illness can be divided into two types:
 First, social stigma, which involves the prejudiced attitudes others have around mental
illness.
 Self-perceived stigma, which involves an internalized stigma the person with the mental
illness suffers from.
Impact of Stigma
The consequences of stigma can be severe and devastating. With stigma comes a lack of
understanding from others, which can be invalidating and painful, but stigma also carries more
severe consequences, including fueling fear, anger, and intolerance directed at other people. In
addition, people who are subjected to stigma are more likely to experience.:
 Reluctance to seek out treatment

 Delayed treatment, which increases morbidity and mortality1
 Social rejection, avoidance, and isolation
 Worse psychological well-being
 Poor understanding among friends and family
 Harassment, violence, or bullying
 Poor quality of life, disability, and increased socioeconomic burden
Stereotyping and Prejudice is a belief that all members of a given group share the same fixed
personality traits or characteristics resulting from this group membership. Stereotypes are always
based on an oversimplified generalization of a social group.
Stereotypes can be harmful and/or positive. Stereotypes do not necessarily need to be

negative. For example, many stereotypes attribute positive qualities to entire groups, such as
"Jamaicans are relaxed" or "gay men have fantastic fashion sense." While positive stereotypes may
seem harmless enough, it is essential to recognize that all stereotypes are problematic because they
tend to be patronizing in tone and damaging in effect (Stereotyping of Young People Resource
Pack, 2008).
Prejudice and Racism

Prejudice is composed of the beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and attitudes someone holds about a
group. Prejudice is not exactly based on experience; instead, it is a prejudgment originating outside
of their experience. A documentary called Eye of the Storm illustrates how prejudice evolves by
showing how defining one category of people as superior (children with blue eyes) results in
prejudice against people who are not part of the favored category.
While prejudice is not necessarily specific to race, racism is a stronger and more common type
of prejudice used to justify the belief that one racial category is somehow superior or inferior to
others; it is also a set of practices used by a racial majority to disadvantage a racial minority. The Ku
Klux Klan is an example of a racist organization. Their belief in white supremacy has encouraged
over a century of hate crime and hate speech against other races.
Institutional racism refers to how racism is embedded in the fabric of society. For example, the
disproportionate number of black men arrested, charged, and convicted of crimes may reflect racial
profiling, a form of institutional racism.
Colorism is another kind of prejudice in which someone believes one type of skin tone is
superior or inferior to another within a racial group. For example, studies suggest that darker-skinned
African Americans experience more discrimination than lighter-skinned African Americans.

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Discrimination can occur in the following forms:

1. Direct Discrimination - under similar circumstances, when a person with a protected

Dealing with discrimination

 Focus on your strengths.

 Reluctance to seek out treatment

Stereotypes can be harmful and/or positive. Stereotypes do not necessarily need to be

Prejudice and Racism

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