The findings strongly reinforce the importance of continuing to work collaboratively to build an Australia free from stigma and discrimination.
SANE Australia and our partners will use the National Stigma Report Card to drive meaningful, systemic change that sees people affected by complex mental health issues being supported and included as equal members of our community.
The National Stigma Report Card presents the findings from Our Turn to Speak, the most comprehensive survey of its kind in Australia.
Top 10 data points
1
95.6% of participants said they had experienced some level of stigma or discrimination in their relationships in the previous year, with 69.1% reporting that this had significantly impacted their lives.
Issues included relationships with friends, family, intimate partners or in their role as parents or caregivers.
2
78.1% of participants said they had experienced some level of stigma or discrimination in relation to employment in the previous year.
43.0% reported employment as one of three areas of life in which they had been most affected by stigma and discrimination. Issues included a range of experiences, from applications and interviews to treatment on the job.
3
83.9% of participants said they had experienced stigma or discrimination when accessing physical healthcare services in the previous year, with 26.3% reporting that this had significantly impacted their lives.
For many, these negative experiences stopped them seeking help for physical health problems.
4
84.6% of participants said they had experienced stigma or discrimination in their engagement with social media in the previous year, with 25.3% reporting that this had significantly impacted their lives.
Many people said they had seen, read or heard social media content that portrayed people living with mental health issues as dangerous or unpredictable, being to blame for their own issues, or being unable to recover.
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Real people, real stories
The National Stigma Report Card is not just about numbers. Stigma and discrimination have a very real impact on the lives of people living with complex mental health issues.
The voices of people with lived experience must not only be heard, but also be the cornerstone of policy decisions and system redesign, to ensure change is effective and sustainable.
The voices of people with lived experience must not only be heard, but also be the cornerstone of policy decisions and system redesign, to ensure change is effective and sustainable.
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Explore the data
Our online data explorer is an interactive tool which allows you to explore the Our Turn to Speak findings further.
You can compare survey results from different life domains, mental health issues, and demographics.
You can compare survey results from different life domains, mental health issues, and demographics.