Reducing Stigma, Discrimination & Exclusion
This theme focuses on practices of effective reduction of stigma and discrimination. This can include stigma perceived or experienced by persons with leprosy, but stigma can also be enacted or caused by the community or by a country’s legal system in the form of discrimination and prejudice. Stigma can also be the root of mental health problems such as internalized stigma, self-isolation, depression, even suicide. The practices under this sub-theme show how to reduce these negative effects.