Life without stigma means we all get to live it. It's time for change.
As we take part in different community activities, let’s leave stigma and discrimination behind.
Fear of facing mental health stigma and discrimination may hold us back unnecessarily from doing these things or even from speaking with friends. If we’ve experienced stigma and discrimination from others in the past, this is more likely to be the case.
How we treat each other when someone is experiencing mental health difficulties makes a difference.
Let's not let stigma get in the way
- We all have equal opportunities to take part in and contribute to our communities
- We all have equal opportunities to take part in and access leisure and social activities to support our mental health
- We maintain our friendships and social connections, including through difficult times
- We are able to take part in community life without fear of being treated unfairly.
Your rights
We are all protected from mental health discrimination when using different services under national laws. You can find more information about the main equality law that covers this – the Equal Status Acts 2000-2018 – from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) website.
IHREC have produced a guide which outlines your rights if you are discriminated against when accessing goods or services.
Why does this matter?
- Nearly half of us believe that being treated for a mental health difficulty isn't seen by Irish society as a sign of personal failure: let's get everyone believing this.
- More than half of us believe that Irish society would treat someone with a mental health difficulty the same as anyone else: let's make sure we all treat everyone equally.
- One in five of us has had a positive experience of disclosing a mental health difficulty in the community: let's make this everyone's reality.
You can be a part of this: help us build our voice to change our attitudes and behaviours around mental health once and for all.
These figures come from our Annual Stigma and Attitudes Survey 2020.
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Your mental health
