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Can We Measure HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination? Current Knowledge about Quantifying Stigma in Developing Countries
Nyblade, L., & MacQuarrie, K. (2006). Can We Measure HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination? Current Knowledge about Quantifying Stigma in Developing Countries. USAID.
Stigma is an attribute that is deeply discrediting and results in the reduction of a person or group from a whole and usual person to a tainted, discounted one (Goffman, 1963). Thus, the ultimate effect of stigma, as noted by Goffman, is the reduction of the life chances of the stigmatized through discriminatory actions. In keeping with Goffman, we do not conceptualize discrimination as separate from stigma, but as the end result of the process of stigmain effect, enacted stigma. We define discrimination (or enacted stigma) as the negative acts that result from stigma and that serve to devalue and reduce the life chances of the stigma- tized. A somewhat different definition of the word discrimination may be used by the legal or human rights communities in their work on HIV-related discrimination and relevant laws and policies (Carael et al., 2000).
