The impact of discrimination on individuals and the community

Discrimination and self-esteem are closely linked. The experience of discrimination can have potential to cause lasting psychological damage. Studies have shown that those who have experienced discrimination because of race, gender, sexual orientation, or other factors – show a greater likelihood of developing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Being discriminated against for characteristics that are outside of your control can significantly detriment your own sense of self. 

Even when someone does not explicitly encounter discrimination or hatred personally, seeing it happen to others can still have an effect on their self-esteem due to vicarious traumatisation. This means that those who witness hate crime or workplace discrimination can become impacted psychologically themselves due to feeling powerless and helpless in the face of such injustice. In addition, visibility plays a role in how individual members of minority groups interpret incidents; for example, if someone belonging to a minority group sees another member being discriminated against they are more likely to assume this could happen to them too, leading them to feel more vulnerable and less confident. 

Despite being against the law many individuals and communities continue to make distinctions based on ethnicity, race, sex or gender and other characteristics that should have no bearing on people’s achievements or well-being. Because of this discrimination is one of the key drivers of social exclusion. Persistent exposure to discrimination can lead individuals to internalise the prejudice or stigma that is directed against them, manifesting in shame, low self-esteem, fear, and stress, as well as poor health. This is the exact opposite of what we are trying to achieve in a community pharmacy setting when we are trying to encourage participation from everyone and social inclusion. 

Discrimination remains a fundamental problem in the world today with discriminatory norms and behaviours remaining widespread and continuing to drive social exclusion. Yet while formal institutional barriers faced by marginalised groups are easy to detect, informal barriers are frequently more subtle, making measuring discrimination complex.

One way to measure discrimination is to ask people if they felt they’ve been treated unfairly. Members of racial or ethnic minority groups in many countries feel they face discrimination in day-to-day encounters. According to the Second European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey, covering 25,500 immigrants and members of ethnic minorities across 28 member states, one in four respondents reported feeling discriminated against in the previous 12 months on at least two grounds: ethnic or immigrant origin, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief or “other” reasons.

Attitudes towards migrants often become more negative in periods of economic insecurity or following large waves of immigration. The misperceptions that most often lead to negative attitudes include that migrants take away jobs from natives or they commit illegal acts, among others. That said, country context is the most important determinant of prejudicial attitudes: a country’s institutions, history, and values are better predictors of tolerance and respect of others than an individual’s level of education or employment.