• Dr. Anurag Agarwal

All human beings are born free both in dignity and in rights, so why is it that individuals who go on to develop and experience mental illness are seen as a soft target for discrimination at a number of levels and in various domains in their daily lives? This discrimination is damaging, derogatory, and demeaning, thereby making individuals with mental illness second class citizens. By association, such discrimination also has an impact on people who look after individuals with mental illness (whether they are professional or lay carers). World Psychiatric Association (WPA) in its 2014–2017 Action Plan, decided to look at public mental health agenda along with discrimination against people with mental illness. WPA represents over 250 000 psychiatrists from 117 countries around the globe, and is therefore interested and committed to challenging discrimination. It commissioned the Centre for Mental Health Law to conduct a survey of as many countries as possible, studying their laws for discrimination in areas of employment, voting rights, funding, and other potential aspects of individual functioning. As has been shown in the case of racism (UNESCO, 1967), all human beings belong to the same species and descend from the same stock. Thus, no illness—be it mental or physical, acute or chronic—should lead to discrimination of any kind whatsoever. Social discrimination against people with mental illness is a global issue and it covers a range of spheres which influence daily living and daily functioning. Social discrimination appears to be lodged in the system and, therefore, can be pervasive and intrusive, and stop people from reaching their full potential and, more importantly, labelling them changes their identities. Micro-identities related to race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, and other components all get trumped by the label of being mentally ill. Social discrimination is defined as sustained inequality between individuals on the basis of illness, disability, religion, sexual orientation, or any other measures of diversity.

SOCIAL DISCRIMINATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

"SOCIAL DISCRIMINATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 8, page no.d535-d538, August-2021, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2108438.pdf

"SOCIAL DISCRIMINATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 8, page no. ppd535-d538, August-2021, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2108438.pdf