Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Stigma

latest news & developments

What HIV got right — but obesity still hasn’t

As the 26th International Aids Conference convenes, this article draws parallels between the HIV response and the emerging obesity crisis in South Africa. It highlights how…

What The Polygamist gets wrong about HIV — and what would save lives in real life

The Netflix drama "The Polygamist" depicts Jonasi Gomora's death from an AIDS-related illness, but the article argues that HIV isn't the real villain. Instead, it's the denial,…

Adolescent girls and young women are blamed and shamed for falling pregnant, which affects how they are treated, the support they get, and the health services they reive

Blaming the wrong girl for getting pregnant

Adolescent girls and young women are blamed and shamed for falling pregnant, which affects how they are treated, the support they get, and the health services they reive

Pyrrhic defeat: Stigma attached to ‘street criminals’ distracts attention away from the crimes of the rich and politically powerful. Photo: Brenton Geach/Gallo Images

Stigma against ex-offenders is an indeterminate sentence

This results in the former convicts permanent social and economic exclusion to benefit the wealthy and the politically connected in South Africa

The Gender Parity Index (GPI) in tertiary education tells the story. As of the latest figures, South Africa’s GPI stands at 1.41, meaning that for every man enrolled in higher education, there are 1.41 women. (Flickr/ https://www.microbizmag.co.uk)

How creativity solves burnout

A great way to commemorate Mental Health Month is by generating creative ideas and encouraging those around you to do the same

Late on Sunday 5 March, four prisoners escaped from the central prison in Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania, killing two soldiers in the process.

Is the idea of rehabilitation redundant in South Africa?

Without the political incentive for fundamental economic change, the fortunes and possibilities for rehabilitation of ex-offenders will not, and cannot, change

So many on the African continent are affected by TB, which hits the young and vibrant the hardest in our region and in the world. (Photo by NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Is the future of South Africa’s tuberculosis (TB) plans locked up in the mysterious minds of teens?

Researchers struggle to understand how teenagers experience tuberculosis treatment, and they haven’t done enough to ask, experts at last week’s seventh South African TB…

Not enough: It seems that the regular salary is not enough for young South Africans. Many turn to side hustles to make ends meet.

Mind the toxic workplace

While people are taking mental health more seriously, the commodification of workers can turn a job into a toxic space that depletes more than it uplifts

The theme for World Health Day is ‘healthy beginnings, hopeful futures’ and aims to encourage governments to take actions to reduce mothers’ deaths during pregnancy and childbirth.

Youth-focused programmes are a crucial component of preventing teenage pregnancy

A multi-stakeholder approach has been implement to improve teenagers’ access to sexual and reproductive health rights services

Still, the South African Medical Association says government doctors in the country aren’t paid enough (Photo by Pradeep Gaur/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Doctors have mental health issues too

Stigma around bipolar and other disorders is just as debilitating

Sierra Leone: Drugs + HIV or Aids + Covid = deadly mix

People living with HIV in Sierra Leone who use drugs are facing grim challenges during the pandemic

May the force be with us

Don’t be too quick to dismiss reports of visitors to Earth – perhaps they can help us

Covid-19 toll: The Bungoma County isolation team prepare to move the coffin of Dr Doreen Lugaliki, 39, one of the first Kenyan doctors to die from the coronavirus, during her funeral in July. (Brian Ongoro/AFP)

Social stigma adds to Kenya’s Covid pain

In Nairobi’s slums, residents spurn Covid-19 tests, fearing both ostracisation and the financial costs of being quarantined

Video/Podcast

Mental health is vital in treating infertility successfully

Women with a history of depression are at greater risk, whereas antidepressant medication can negatively affect men’s fertility

(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Eusebius McKaiser: A witness to Covid-19 stigma

Let us please not repeat the devastating Aids story where people died of shame rather than admit being infected by the virus