AICAFMHA:
promoting mental health for young Australians
Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Association Ltd
ABN 87 093 479 022
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StigmaWatch Reports and the Verdict is ?
The first annual StigmaWatch Report found the Australian media were regularly inaccurate, often disrespectful and insulting to people with a mental illness, but willing to change how they report.
Marking Schizophrenia Awareness Week (May 19 ? 25), ABC broadcaster Jon Faine, joined mental health charity SANE Australia to deliver the report at a public launch yesterday. Stigma is a major issue for those affected by schizophrenia and other mental illnesses, causing untold distress and discouraging people from seeking help.
SANE StigmaWatch, the anti-stigma campaign, took action on 82 reports in the past twelve months ? the majority being in television (36%) and the print media (34%). Other reports came from advertising (18%), radio (7%) and websites (5%).
The most common report was the use of the medical term ?schizophrenia? to describe topics ranging from the weather, the performance of the Australian cricket team, through to foreign policy ? perpetuating the myth that schizophrenia means a ?split personality?.
Advertisements were repeatedly reported for using comical or ridiculous portrayals of mental illness to promote their product or service. Comedy and entertainment programs broadcast on TV and radio were regularly investigated for misleading and hurtful mockery of mental illness.
The most serious concern was the ?framing? of stories on people with a mental illness as typically violent and dangerous. Such reporting wrongly gave the impression that everyone with a mental illness is unpredictable and to be feared.
SANE?s Executive Director, Barbara Hocking said: ?The media influence what we think about and play a major part in shaping attitudes towards mental illness. Responsible and accurate reporting can really make a difference.?
The encouraging news is that the vast majority of those contacted by StigmaWatch were genuinely apologetic that they had caused offence, and willing to change. Once the harm of stigma was explained, those responsible were willing to promise to be more accurate and respectful in the future.
The StigmaWatch program is based at the SANE website (www.sane.org) and relies on ?StigmaWatchers? to report cases of stigma. The SANE Guide to Fighting Stigma was also launched at the event. The guide provides practical information about addressing stigma in the media.
Back to AICAFMHA Homepage / News in Brief Index / Issue 16
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