Stigma and discrimination: social encounters, identity and space; a concept derived from HIV and AIDS related research in the high prevalence country Botswana

Abstract

How do social encounters conjure up stigma and discrimination? How do social identities emerge and how do people reject or integrate each other in local settings and social space? How do individuals affected build their self-identities and cope with the socially divisive effects of their stigma? The book provides an unconventional view on the subject matter. It is based on empirical fieldwork on the social effects of HIV and AIDS in Botswana. A broad review of geographical, sociological, psychological and social psychological literature, as well as the consideration of works of applied sciences helps to lift the empirical findings to a more general and theoretical level. Different lines of theory are disentangled and integrated into a concept of stigma and discrimination. With its standpoint of pragmatist epistemology and the special focus on the spatial character of social distances the book is of interest not only for social geographers. Both stigma and discrimination are socially highly relevant phenomena. They not only induce social segregation in such a manner that people are forced to subordinate themselves. Especially stigmatisation leads people to exclude themselves out of shame. People also refrain from seeking support from relevant services. It is therefore of elementary importance in many social fields (e.g. the public health sector, social work, etc.) to understand the processes of stigma and discrimination.

First published as: Geiselhart, Klaus (2009): The Geography of Stigma and Discrimination. HIV and AIDS Related Identities in Botswana. Saarbrücken (Studies in Development Geography, 36)