Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jan 12:8:577018.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.577018. eCollection 2020.

Stigma and Discrimination During COVID-19 Pandemic

Divya Bhanot  1 , Tushar Singh  2 , Sunil K Verma  3 , Shivantika Sharad  3
Affiliations
Review

Stigma and Discrimination During COVID-19 Pandemic

Divya Bhanot et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been instrumental in creating a dramatic shift from people's need to live in mutual association toward a desire to stigmatize distinctive others. Pandemic seems to be causing othering. Stated simply, stigmatization is a social process set to exclude those who are perceived to be a potential source of disease and may pose threat to the effective social living in the society. Based on the secondary evidence collected from news published online or in print, the present article delves into stigma associated with the COVID-19 pandemic among different social groups in the Indian society and the mounting cases of prejudice based on race, class, and religion. It also presents insights into the varied manifestations, and the deleterious consequences of COVID-19 inspired othering brought to its potential targets in India.

Keywords: COVID 19; discriminatory behaviors; social identity; stigma; stigmatization; victimization.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

References

    1. Earnshaw V. Don't let the fear of Covid-19 turn intoStigma. Economics and Society. (2020). Available online at: https://hbr.org/2020/04/dont-let-fear-of-covid-19-turn-into-stigma (accessed April 06, 2020).
    1. Gilmore N, Somerville M. Stigmatization, scapegoating and discrimination in sexually transmitted diseases: Overcoming ‘them' and ‘us'. Soc Sci Med. (1994) 39:1339–58. 10.1016/0277-9536(94)90365-4 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sng O, Williams K, Neuberg S. Evolutionary approaches to stereotyping and prejudice. In: F. K. Barlow and C. G. Sibley, editors. The Cambridge Handbook of the Psychology of Prejudice. Padstow Cornwall, UK: Cambridge University Press; (2018). p. 40–68.
    1. Williams J, Gonzalez-Medina D, Le Q. Infectious diseases and social stigma. Appl Technol Innov. (2011) 4:58–70. 10.15208/ati.2011.7 - DOI
    1. Goffman E. Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall: (1963).