Stigma management, destigmatization

WHO and WPA recently inaugurated worldwide "anti-stigma-campaigns". On this background the exploration discrimination of against the mentally ill of t he term stigma and its meaning is useful. Stigma dates from acient Greece a nd was meant to be a visable sign of disgrace. Today stigma and stigma mana gement are sociological terms described by the American sociologist Ervin G offman (1963) in is essay "Stigma - notes on the management to spoiled iden tity". Changes and hazards of attempts of destigmatization are explored.