Women and Stigma: A Protocol for Understanding Intersections of Experience through Body Mapping.
Katherine M BoydellJill BennettAngela DewJulia LappinCaroline LenetteJane UssherPriya VaughanRuth WellsPublished in: International journal of environmental research and public health (2020)
This paper outlines a research and dissemination protocol to be undertaken with specific groups of marginalised women in Australia. Women impacted by significant mental distress, disability, or refugee status are among society's most vulnerable and disenfranchised groups. They can experience significant social exclusion, marginalisation and stigma, associated with reduced help seeking, deprivation of dignity and human rights, and threats to health, well-being and quality of life. Previous research has assessed the experiences of discrete groups of women but has to date failed to consider mental health-refugee-disability intersections and overlaps in experience. Using body mapping, this research applies an intersectional approach to identify how women impacted by significant mental distress, disability, and refugee status negotiate stigma and marginalisation. Findings on strategies to cope with, negotiate and resist stigmatised identities will inform health policy and yield targeted interventions informed by much-needed insights on women's embodied experience of stigma. The women's body maps will be exhibited publicly as part of an integrated knowledge translation strategy. The aim is to promote and increase sensitivity and empathy among practitioners and policy makers, strengthening the basis for social policy deliberation.
Keyphrases
- mental health
- polycystic ovary syndrome
- healthcare
- mental illness
- public health
- pregnancy outcomes
- cervical cancer screening
- multiple sclerosis
- endothelial cells
- high resolution
- breast cancer risk
- palliative care
- insulin resistance
- hiv aids
- mass spectrometry
- metabolic syndrome
- depressive symptoms
- social media
- adipose tissue
- skeletal muscle
- physical activity
- induced pluripotent stem cells