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Pyrrhic defeat: Stigma attached to ‘street criminals’ distracts attention away from the crimes of the rich and politically powerful. Photo: Brenton Geach/Gallo Images

Stigma against ex-offenders is an indeterminate sentence

This results in the former convicts permanent social and economic exclusion to benefit the wealthy and the politically connected in South Africa

The Gender Parity Index (GPI) in tertiary education tells the story. As of the latest figures, South Africa’s GPI stands at 1.41, meaning that for every man enrolled in higher education, there are 1.41 women. (Flickr/ https://www.microbizmag.co.uk)

How creativity solves burnout

A great way to commemorate Mental Health Month is by generating creative ideas and encouraging those around you to do the same

Late on Sunday 5 March, four prisoners escaped from the central prison in Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania, killing two soldiers in the process.

Is the idea of rehabilitation redundant in South Africa?

Without the political incentive for fundamental economic change, the fortunes and possibilities for rehabilitation of ex-offenders will not, and cannot, change

Not enough: It seems that the regular salary is not enough for young South Africans. Many turn to side hustles to make ends meet.

Mind the toxic workplace

While people are taking mental health more seriously, the commodification of workers can turn a job into a toxic space that depletes more than it uplifts

The theme for World Health Day is ‘healthy beginnings, hopeful futures’ and aims to encourage governments to take actions to reduce mothers’ deaths during pregnancy and childbirth.

Youth-focused programmes are a crucial component of preventing teenage pregnancy

A multi-stakeholder approach has been implement to improve teenagers’ access to sexual and reproductive health rights services

Still, the South African Medical Association says government doctors in the country aren’t paid enough (Photo by Pradeep Gaur/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Doctors have mental health issues too

Stigma around bipolar and other disorders is just as debilitating

Covid-19 toll: The Bungoma County isolation team prepare to move the coffin of Dr Doreen Lugaliki, 39, one of the first Kenyan doctors to die from the coronavirus, during her funeral in July. (Brian Ongoro/AFP)

Social stigma adds to Kenya’s Covid pain

In Nairobi’s slums, residents spurn Covid-19 tests, fearing both ostracisation and the financial costs of being quarantined

Video/Podcast

Mental health is vital in treating infertility successfully

Women with a history of depression are at greater risk, whereas antidepressant medication can negatively affect men’s fertility

(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Eusebius McKaiser: A witness to Covid-19 stigma

Let us please not repeat the devastating Aids story where people died of shame rather than admit being infected by the virus

This pandemic will test our sanity. To maintain mental well-being we must allow ourselves to speak into our fears. It is okay to not be okay.
 (Eduardo Soteras/AFP via Getty Images)

The ethics of Covid-19 status disclosure: To tell or not to tell?

The trick is to find the balance between people’s right to privacy and the need for contact tracing to limit the spread of the disease

City of Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato along with other officials held a media briefing at their COVID-19 lockdown facility in Strandfontein followed by a tour of the large marquee tents. The media presence incited many of the people in the tents that was quickly stopped after media was urged to move along. The City of Cape Town’s Covid-19 lockdown encampment in Strandfontein for up to 4000 homeless people from around the greater city area. (David Harrison/M&G)

Covid-19 stigma: Revealing the pre-existing fault lines in our society

South Africans have an uncaring stigmatising and marginalising culture and it keeps people on the fringes of society with diminished opportunities in life

Sex work is selling a service

[LISTEN] This mom became a sex worker and her daughter is fine with it

Sex work is selling a service, not your body, says Mariska Majoor. There’s nothing sinister about it.

Lights, camera, action: Mental health through a Nollywood lens. (Akintunde Akinleye)
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“An African man like me depressed?” Why representation matters in the movies

The continent’s largest film industry has been getting mental health all wrong with dangerous consequences. Now, that’s changing.

Mental and physical health are closely connected, with each contributing to overall wellbeing. (John McCann/M&G)

End the stigma of mental illness

Tackling the problem requires leaders in all spheres to make mental health a global priority

Silence

#MeToo implies we’re the problem

Breaking the silence on sexual violation is powerful but how we do it is another question

En garde! Paris Saint-Germain’s forward, Kylian Mbappé, has a certain style, and has the makings of a ruthless Messi or Ronaldo. (Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images)
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‘They made me feel like a murderer’: Stigma endangers women seeking legal abortions

Bontle Mabe turned to a loan shark to fund her abortion after she was turned away for five days in a row at her local clinic.

80 out of 1000 women in Africa have unplanned pregnancies.

Women in Africa least likely to use contraception

Only one out of three married women and sexually active teenage girls on the continent use contraception.

How stigma can stymie Nigeria’s efforts to extend HIV treatment

People in rural Nigeria are afraid of being isolated due to their HIV status and don’t access treatment.

#Unmask TB stigma with a selfie

Tuberculosis kills more people than HIV. Show your support for people with TB by joining the WHO’s Unmask Stigma Challenge on World TB Day.

Knowing your HIV status could curb the spread of the virus

The stigma of HIV still kills

December 1 is #WorldAisDay: HIV was discovered more than 30 years ago. Why do we still stigmatise HIV-infected people?