ANTI-STIGMA WEEK: TIME TO REFLECT AND ACT

It has been incredible to see a diverse group of people and
organizations pool their skills and resources to mount Anti-Stigma
Week, with activities that all have one goal - enhancing individual
and community health and well-being by transforming stigma around drug use.

This year's Anti-Stigma Week theme is Drug Use, Dignity and Human
Rights. Drug use, and especially illicit drug use, is associated with
high degrees of stigma that hurt individuals' health and access to
health care and reduce community cohesion.

Stigma is a societal process that marks people as outsiders. Those
who are different -because of their behaviours or identities -are
subject to disapproval and marginalization.

They aren't seen as people, as someone's daughter or father,
neighbours with their own stories and failings and hopes. This
prejudice makes it easier for active discrimination to take hold, or
to leave individuals fearing that others think them less worthy. The
way systems are organized and accepted societal attitudes reinforce
these tendencies.

The effects of stigmas on the health and well-being of individuals
and communities are devastating. It robs people of dignity and can
contribute to physical and psychological health problems. In some
cases, this adds to past trauma and abuses that have added to
situations such as addiction and homelessness.

Poor people are more likely to be stigmatized, with gender, age and
culture all playing a role in how people are perceived. Stigma is a
barrier to housing, employment and educational opportunities that are
central to improving health and well-being and self-sufficiency.

When people are excluded from services or marginalized by policies,
the result is also decreased productivity and increased financial
costs to society.

Stigma is often not easily recognized. We tend to think and act in
commonly accepted stereotypical ways and only on reflection recognize
the way in which our attitudes and responses to others can be stigmatizing.

For example, the language we use can reinforce stereotypes about
certain groups that do not reflect their reality. Working in the
field of substance use and addictions, we frequently hear terms like
"drug user," "addict" and "junkie."

Labels like these tend to contain moral judgments about the worth of
vulnerable individuals and contribute to stigma. They make it easy to
forget these are also people -employees, parents, children. This has
been brought home to us many times in our work and we have become
sensitive to the use of these terms.

It is a powerful moment when we question the use of such language and
provide alternative language such as "people who use drugs."
Inclusive and respectful language is an excellent start for
transforming stigma and removing barriers between people and communities.

If children are repeatedly told that they are worthless, pretty soon
they will start saying that they are worthless. Stigma often becomes
internalized and people come to see themselves in the ways they are
perceived -"I am just a throwaway or I am worthless."

When society repeatedly treats people who use drugs as less worthy or
a drain on resources, pretty soon people come to believe and act in
ways that reinforce these beliefs.

Stigma adds to the shame and can prevent people from accessing
resources even when they are seemingly available.

This cycle can be broken through respect and inclusion. Listening is
a good place to start breaking down barriers. Beginning with "tell me
about yourself. What is important to you? What is your opinion?"

There is a slogan: "Nothing about us without us." It suggests that
people with the experiential knowledge related to the issue at hand
- -those who have lived it -must be supported in being actively
involved and leading in developing inclusive policies, practices and
decision-making structures that directly impact their wellbeing.

Anti-Stigma Week provides an excellent time to think about the use of
language and unintentional ways that stigma is communicated and to
begin the process of transformation that will contribute to health
and well-being of every citizen in our community.