Stigma and Discrimination

Stigma and discrimination can seriously affect the health, welfare and quality of life of people with mental health problems.

Time to Change

Time to Change | let's end mental health discrimination

Time to Change is a voluntary sector programme in England to end discrimination faced by people who experience mental health problems.

The programme of 35 projects is led by Mental Health Media, Mind, and Rethink. It is funded with £16m from the Big Lottery Fund and £2m from Comic Relief, and evaluated by the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, London.

The programme is backed by international evidence on what works, and has at its heart people with direct experience of mental health problems.

Shift

Shift logo

Shift is the government's initiative to tackle stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health issues in England. Its aim is to create a society where people who experience mental health problems enjoy the same rights and opportunities as other people.

Open Up: the training and multi-media toolkit

This evaluation of the Mental Health Media anti-discrimination project, Open Up, was carried out by Patience Seebohm in 2003-2004 with service user participants in the project: Janet Betinis, Liz Hambrook, Wendy Mayne, Simon Myers and Rowland Urey. It involved a number of interviews with service users delivering and participating in the project, and found the experience had been extremely positive. There were a few areas which needed to be addressed and some progress was made as the programme developed.

Download Open Up evaluation report (Word, 345 KB)

Policy Watch: What's new

Attitudes towards mental illness

12/06/2009

This year's report on attitudes towards mental illness is out at the Department of Health.

There have been some improvements, but also some still worrying views.

  • 77% of people regard mental illnesses as an illness "like any other"
  • 61% said People with mental illness are far less of a danger than most people suppose
  • 73% thoguht that people with mental health problems had the same right to employment as anyone else
  • almost a third of 16-to 34-year-olds believe it is easy to distinguish people with a mental illness from "normal people"
  • 11% of the population said they wouldn't want to live next door to a person they knew had a mental health problem
  • One in five people still believe that anyone with a history of mental health problems should be excluded from public office

Stigma and Discrimination survey by Rethink

24/07/2008

Over 3000 people affected by mental health problems across England took part in the largest ever survey about stigma and discrimination. 87% of people said they had direct personal experience of stigma and discrimination. The results are presented in Stigma Shout.

Stigma Shout is helping to shape the Moving People programme and in particular the national anti-stigma marketing campaign.

MPs forced to hide mental health problems

16/07/2008

A new report published today by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Mental Health, with support from the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Mind, Rethink and Stand to Reason, shows that one in five MPs has experience of a mental health problem but fears disclosing this because of the stigma and discrimination associated with mental health issues.

An anonymous questionnaire revealed that:

  • 27% had personal experience of a mental health problem
  • 94% had family or friends who have experienced a mental health problem
  • 86% of MPs said their job was stressful
  • 1 in 3 said work-based stigma and the expectation of a hostile reaction from the media and public prevented them from being open about mental health issues

The Parliamentary Group has made recommendations including the repeal of laws that prevent people with experience of mental health problems from standing for Parliament and enouraging MPs and Peers to be more open about their experiences of mental health problems.