Let's Get Physical: Civil Liability and the Perception of Risk

The article aims to explore the place of perceptions of riskwithin the law of tort. It examines both property-related, ‘stigmadamages’ cases and also personal injury-related ‘fearof disease’ cases. A finding of some form of physicaldamage or injury seems to be required by the courts in orderto establish liability in both instances. Having explored thecontentious issue of the precise contours of such damage orinjury, the article concludes with a suggestion for a quantifiability-basedapproach to establishing liability in the area.     

NORMALIZATION AND LEGITIMATION: MODELING STIGMATIZING ATTITUDES TOWARD EX-OFFENDERS*

Successful community reentry and the criminological impact of incarceration may depend in part on the attitudes (and consequent reactions) that prisoners encounter after release. Theories of social stigma suggest that such attitudes depend, in turn, on the levels of familiarity with the stigmatized group (the normalization thesis) as well as on the credibility and trust they accord to sanctioning agents (the legitimation thesis). To assess these two hypotheses, we present the first multivariate analysis of public attitudes toward ex-offenders. Data from a four-state, random-digit telephone survey of more than 2,000 individuals indicate that, net of controls, personal familiarity with ex-offenders may soften attitudes, whereas confidence in the courts may harden them. As expected, non-Hispanic Whites, conservatives, and southern residents hold more negative views of ex-offenders. Our findings lend indirect support to concerns that incarceration is becoming “normalized”, and we suggest strategies for reducing the stigma of incarceration.     

Critical peacebuilding and the dilemma of difference: the stigma of the ‘local’ and the quest for equality

Recent research has revealed the need to include and understand local actors in order to improve the effectiveness of peacebuilding. According to these analyses, peacebuilding could become more respectful of cultural differences thanks to a genuine engagement with the specificities of the local. Empirical studies of the ‘different’ local have thus flourished in the field with the ambition of countering the universalist tendency of traditional peacebuilding. Through the use of the concept of ‘dilemma of difference’, this article challenges this intuitive argument and argues that these approaches risk reproducing a stigma attached to the ‘different’ local. Indeed, emphasising difference in order to ensure its respect means separating and reifying ‘it’ as a deviation from the norm(al). As such, this analytical strategy is likely to recreate the stigma that contributed to the exclusion of local actors in previous peacebuilding practice and research. In contrast, I outline three strategies for studying difference differently in peacebuilding: focusing on the institutional arrangements that enabled specific differences to emerge and become visible; recognising that these differences are internal to peacebuilding (and thus an unlikely source of alternative and emancipation); and revealing the unstated and implicit Self for/from whom local difference is relevant.     

Attitudes toward mental health services among homeless and matched housed youth

Homeless youth experience high rates of mental health problems yet they under-utilize mental health services. The present study surveyed 56 homeless youth and 97 matched at-risk housed youth on their attitudes toward mental health services, and investigated the link between social support and attitudes. Results showed groups shared similar neutral to positive attitudes. Higher levels of social support were associated with increased positive attitudes toward services. Further analyses found that lesbian/gay/bisexual/questioning youth held more positive attitudes compared to heterosexual youth. Implications of the current study can assist service providers with eliminating barriers and increasing mental health service use.     

“[It's] what you do after the mistake that counts”: Positive employment credentials,criminal record stigma,and potential pathways of mediation

The findings from prior research indicate that positive credentials, or documentation of prosocial accomplishments, can vary in strength and perceived value in mitigating aversions to hiring individuals with criminal records. In the current study, we examine why certain types of positive credentials may be more influential in reducing stigma than others. Using data from a nationwide survey of American adults (N = 3,476), we combine a mediation analysis with content-coding of open-ended responses to identify key themes and patterns in decision processes. The results indicate the factors examined here—employee dependability, trustworthiness, recidivism risk, and workplace crime—explain a large proportion of the total effect across credentials and are the strongest for reference letters. Trustworthiness is the most influential mediator across credentials, whereas general recidivism risk is consistently the lowest. An analysis of open-ended responses provides further context and insight into these patterns. Although policy strategies often target risk reduction on the employer's end, credentials that also relay information about skills, character, and the timeline of recent life events are especially influential.     

Overcoming stigma and fostering participation: mechanisms for community reintegration in Colombia

ABSTRACT

Mechanisms for community reintegration are under-researched. In Colombia and elsewhere, scholars outline the importance of effectively reintegrating ex-combatants into local communities, but they hardly consider the practicalities of it. A major hindering factor to community reintegration is stigma. It leads to a fear of ex-combatants, causing people to refrain from participating in community reintegration projects. This article identifies and analyses four principal mechanisms that help to overcome stigma and foster participation: information provision, inclusion of target groups in design and implementation, provision of incentives for participation and a change in the narrative surrounding ex-combatants. The analysis is based on a series of interviews with project staff and ex-combatants, taking into account state-run and local projects in Colombia’s capital Bogotá. This article identifies potential for increased co-operation between state and local actors. Furthermore, it argues that projects should increasingly work with interest instead of geographic communities. Working with interest communities creates incentives for participation and facilitates community reintegration in urban environments. Accordingly, this article counters the argument that community reintegration in cities is difficult to achieve.     

Examining the judgments of pedophiles in relation to a non-sexual offense

ABSTRACT

Even though pedophilia is not synonymous with child sexual abuse, it remains a highly stigmatized phenomenon. As such, non-offending pedophilic individuals are judged as being dangerous, abnormal, amoral, and in need of punishment. It is unknown, however, whether a pedophilic individual would be judged more harshly than a heterosexual individual and a homosexual individual in relation to a nonsexual, nonviolent offense. This was the aim of the present study. A final sample of 309 participants were recruited online and allocated to one of three sexual orientation conditions. Participants read the same hypothetical crime report (breaking and entering) followed by a suspect profile that was identical across conditions except for sexual orientation. They then provided sentencing and moral character judgements of the suspect. Participants also completed a punitive attitudes scale pertaining to pedophilia. Results showed that the pedophilic individual received harsher judgments relative to the heterosexual individual, but only at higher levels of pre-existing punitive attitudes. These findings suggest that anti-pedophilia stigma can bias judgments about offenses that are not sexual. We argue that this is due to a ‘reverse halo effect’. However, we consider an alternative explanation based on the idea of interpreting information in a schema-consistent manner. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

From the Streets to the Screen: Sex Work,Stigma, Desire and Covid-19 in Mexico City

This article explores how the labour practices of sex workers in Mexico City have been affected by Covid-19. More specifically, it analyses (a) how the pandemic increases the stigmatisation of sex workers; (b) the causes that prompted Mexican sex workers to resort to erotic online platforms; (c) the advantages and disadvantages of online sex work; (d) the forms of mutual support sex workers in Mexico City offer each other in order to familiarise themselves with this new modality of work. Thus, this study provides the basis for analysis of sex work, stigma and desire in the context of Covid-19 in Mexico.     

Mental illness in the eyes of the law: examining perceptions of stigma among judges and attorneys

In response to the increasing numbers of mentally ill persons placed under the care of correctional institutions, community-based diversion programs have been established to address the unique needs and challenges of this vulnerable population. Given that legal personnel may serve as gatekeepers in placement decisions, and the lack of existing research examining their attitudes toward offenders with mental illness, the present study aimed to evaluate perceptions of dangerousness and treatment need among a sample of judges, prosecutors, and public defenders across the state of Mississippi. While controlling for age, results of a factorial MANCOVA revealed that public defenders, relative to both judges and prosecutors, endorsed more compassionate attitudes about defendants with mental illnesses. Furthermore, political ideology did not significantly influence attitudes toward mentally ill offenders. While judges and prosecutors endorsed more negative stereotypes about mental illness and perceived mentally ill defendants as a greater risk to the community, mean scores across groups suggested moderately positive attitudes overall. Study limitations, implications for correctional mental health providers, and directions for future research are discussed.     

Stories that matter: subverting the before-and-after weight-loss narrative

Contemporary scholarship does not pay enough attention to stigma in relation to its temporal status; i.e. whether the stigma is temporary and changeable, or is it permanent? The present article links the study of sociology of time, of de-stigmatization strategies and of narrative resistance, through a case study of individuals who are stigmatized on the basis of an attribute perceived as temporary and changeable – fatness. Conducting a comparative analysis of Before-and-After weight-loss articles appearing in an Israeli online health magazine, I examine how these narratives marginalize fat people by presenting fatness as temporary and changeable. I then compare these narratives to life narratives produced by Israeli-Jewish women, who self-identify as fat. Participants subvert mainstream narratives in two ways: (1) assigning the fat body to “After,” thereby challenging the temporary and transient status of fatness and (2) subverting other discursive characteristics of Before-and-After Weight-Loss Narratives. As a result, participants produce valid knowledge and social criticism from a stable fat subject position.