Stigma:
1. The recognition of difference based on some distinguishing
characteristic or "mark"
2. A consequent devaluation of the person

Welcome to The Initiative for the Defeat of Stigma. The Initiative was launched in the summer of 2006 and thus we are in our infancy.  Please continue to visit this website over the next several months and watch us grow. We welcome your ideas and insights drawn from your own experiences with stigma.

Stigma is personally, interpersonally, and socially costly.  In the U.S. alone there are over 43 million individuals with a disability- 14.3% of the entire population- America's largest minority.  People with health challenges and disabilities are only one group of individuals who are stigmatized. It seems that acceptance of differences is not something we humans do very well.  Celebrating differences is what The Initiative for the Defeat of Stigma is about.

The Mission of The Initiative for the Defeat of Stigma is: "To build awareness of the negative impact of stigma on the individual, the community, and society and to bring about attitudinal and behavioral changes that dignify our individual differences."

Defeating stigma is something that each of us can participate in on a daily basis, it may simply begin by; increasing public awareness of the enormity and impact of the problem; acknowledging that being stigmatized lessens the quality of life of millions; and making a concerted effort to help individuals and their families to increase their coping skills to deal with this challenge.

Please help spread word about our work so that we may all work together to defeat stigma.