StigmaWatcher Kelly saw this advertisement on the back of a bus in Perth and decided to take action.
The ad which featured on bus and train stations, the exterior of buses and inside some trains read 'No hot water! Don't go psycho!'.
Kelly wrote to the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia and the companies responsible for the advertising- Adshel and APN, raising her objections in a detailed and comprehensive way.
'PTA & Transperth have a shared responsibility to the public of Perth to ensure that they do not display advertising which perpetuated the stigma associated with mental illnesses. Similarly, APN Outdoor has a responsibility to the same to not produce such advertising. Psychosis is a distressing symptom of many mental illnesses, the
trivialisation of which ought not be ignored by people of good will,' she wrote.
'Stigma contributes another major stress they can well do without. Many say that stigma and prejudice is as distressing as the symptoms themselves. Stigma can lead to both discrimination against and - especially when it becomes self-stigmatisation - self-harming behaviours in individuals impacted either directly or indirectly by it.'
Kelly drew on SANE resources about the stigma surrounding mental illness and copied StigmaWatch into her correspondence with the organisations.
Within a week of receiving this feedback PTA and APN mutually agreed to take the advertising down.
Another example of successful action against stigma comes from regular StigmaWatch contributor, John.
He emailed a journalist at The Age newspaper about a piece they had written using the term 'committed suicide'.
John was prompt in responding, on the same day that the article as published, with a detailed outline of why it was stigmatising.
'The term “committed suicide” is judgemental, archaic and unhelpful. It restrains people from help seeking behaviour, implies blame and that a crime has occurred, stigmatises suicide and the people who have been touched by suicide. The sentence would read just as well with the offending word “committed” removed and replaced by ‘died by suicide’, ‘took their own life’ or simply ‘suicided’. This distinction is more than mere semantics to people affected by suicide,' he wrote.
The journalist responded 'I've lost several friends to suicide, and the thought of adding further hurt to anyone who's been through it horrifies me. I'm really sorry; I didn't know. I've had the online version of that story changed, and I'd filed one for tomorrow that had a similar reference - I've had that changed too.'
These responses to StigmaWatch action show that not all advertisers and journalists are aware of the stigma present in what they produce and are willing to change. What really helped was a fast and detailed response from StigmaWatchers, using evidence and understanding, to achieve change.
If you'd like more tips on how to respond to stigma you have seen see the SANE Guide to Reducing Stigma.
