Interrogating leprosy ‘stigma’: why qualitative insights are vital

摘要

I was initially in two minds about editing a special issue on 'stigma'. The term, it seemedto me, was one too often applied uncritically to bodily conditions – especially in relation toleprosy – as a vague gloss for a qualitatively diverse range of negative social reactions andattitudes, as well as a description of how they might be experienced. As such, 'stigma' canbecome a lazy shortcut for the multiple 'social aspects' of leprosy, preventing deeper scrutinyof the complex and sometimes contradictory experiences that are characteristic of livingwith the disease