The Main Sources and Potential Effects of COVID-19-Related Discrimination

Abstract

The outbreak of a new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which appeared in late 2019 and eventually resulted in the announcement of a pandemic by the World Health Organization, led to global fear and panic as well as the spread of false information and fake news from different sources. As a result, a sharp increase in prejudice, discrimination, and xenophobia against different groups of people was observed in different geographical locations. This chapter presents the psychological and social sources of stereotypes and prejudices that take forms in the COVID-19 pandemic. These sources can be located in psychosocial processes, such as (i) socially generated and reinforced fears; (ii) human responses to stress induced by certain types of stimuli; (iii) sense of helplessness based on the lack of control over reality; (iv) psychological responses reinforced by conformism (crowd psychology); and (v) the stigmatization process. The chapter also presents the main groups of increased risk of experiencing prejudice and discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic (Asians, health-care workers, COVID-19 patients, and their relatives). Moreover, it provides a documented example of such behaviors. The groups at higher risk of more adverse effects of COVID-19 due to pre-pandemic discrimination are also discussed. Finally, initiatives taken to mitigate the discrimination associated with COVID-19 are presented, as well as the recommendations and good practices for preventing these behaviors during future outbreaks and for limiting discrimination against COVID-19 until the disease can be contained.

Keywords: COVID-19; Discrimination; Fear; Prejudice; SARS-CoV-2; Stigma; Xenophobia.