Shared understanding

Stigma and discrimination can mean different things to different people.

Early on in your project design, allocate dedicated time to talk about and ‘unpack’ stigma and discrimination with colleagues, OPD partners and other stakeholders.

We found that even the word ‘stigma’ doesn’t translate well. People generally find it easier to use everyday language to describe the experiences of stigma, such as talking about feelings, beliefs and taboos, promoting greater acceptance, and addressing self-esteem.

This will promote a shared understanding of what the four types of stigma means in your context and will help you decide if stigma needs to be addressed to meet the objectives of your project.

It can sometimes be easier to capture concrete examples of what stigma and discrimination means in your context.

Return to the earlier part of this guidance (Section 2: Four types of stigma), which explains different types of stigma. Then use the activity at the end of section 2 to explore what everyone understands by the types of stigma in your context.