Thwarting stigma and dehumanization through empathy

Abstract

The combination of stigma and dehumanization affects how people think, feel, and behave toward others based on positive or negative perceptions of group membership. The link between the two is particularly problematic and relevant in a health-care setting. Health professionals are historically mythologized as empathetic beacons of caring for patients, something that is hindered by stigma and dehumanization. Both phenomena rely on stereotypes, values, cultures, and socio-political and economic hierarchies and inequalities that edge out and justify the exclusion of individuals who belong to disfavored groups. Thus stigma and dehumanization represent the negation of the embracing idea of care. The current chapter outlines the interplay between stigma and dehumanization in healthcare. We provide an overview of the concepts, definitions, and the intervention strategies pursued against them. A redefinition of stigma as a form of violence, enabled by dehumanization as a meaning-making tool, with shared characteristics and attributes is proposed. The chapter closes with a proposal on how stigma and dehumanization may be undermined through approaches that promote empathy.