Human Rights, Stigma, and Substance Use

The primary purpose of political, civil, socioeconomic, and cultural rights is to protect the dignity of all human beings. Good mental health and well-being is defined by the “social, psychosocial, economic, and physical environment that enables individuals and populations to live a life of dignity,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inHealth and human rights Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 51 - 60
Main Authors WOGEN, JENIFER, RESTREPO, MARIA TERESA
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States President and Fellows of Harvard College 01.06.2020
Harvard School of Public Health
Harvard University Press
Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights
Subjects
Built environment
Civil rights
Decriminalization
Discrimination
Epidemics
Health initiatives
Health problems
Human dignity
Human Rights
Humans
Legalization
Mental disorders
Mental health
MENTAL HEALTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Opioids
Psychosocial factors
Public Health
Respect
Social Stigma
Stereotypes
Stigma
Substance abuse
Substance-Related Disorders - psychology
Substance-Related Disorders - rehabilitation
United States
Well being
United States
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Summary:The primary purpose of political, civil, socioeconomic, and cultural rights is to protect the dignity of all human beings. Good mental health and well-being is defined by the “social, psychosocial, economic, and physical environment that enables individuals and populations to live a life of dignity, with full enjoyment of their rights and in the equitable pursuit of their potential.” Stigmatization, discrimination, and negative stereotypes are barriers to mental health and well-being. Individuals with mental health problems, including those with drug dependence, suffer stigmatization, which is a direct affront to dignity and may have enduring health impacts. This paper discusses the implications of stigma for a human-rights based approach to improving mental health among those with drug dependence, with a focus on the opioid epidemic now ravaging the United States. It explores the public health burden of stigma related to substance misuse, including stigma in the context of treatment and health care. It also discusses the role of policy initiatives—including decriminalization—in addressing stigma related to substance misuse.
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Competing interests: None declared.
ISSN:1079-0969
2150-4113
2150-4113