Perceptions of the Population of the Republic of Moldova - Soros ...

Perceptions of the Population of the Republic of Moldova on Discrimination: Sociological Study 10IntroductionThe concept of stigma and discrimination. As stated in the specialized literature, stigma is a sociallabel, a form of prejudice that discredits or rejects a person or a group of people that are deemed to bedifferent from others. When people act on the basis of prejudice, stigma turns into discrimination. Stigmaand discrimination go hand in hand and evolve as a spiral. Thus, stigma causes discriminatory attitudestowards certain groups of people depending on their age, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, health status,etc. Attitudes translate into discriminatory behaviors towards these groups of people, which, in their turn,contribute to increased stigma. The effects of stigma and discrimination are very negative for those groupsand are expressed through their social, political and economic exclusion.Relevance of research. In Moldova, the phenomenon of stigma and discrimination was studied mainlyin terms of ethnic relations and public health, or in the context of other studies. Thus, the Institute forPublic Policy, with the support of the Soros Foundation-Moldova, conducted a survey on interethnicrelations in Moldova and studied the attitudes and behavior of different ethnic groups in relation to otherethnic groups 3 . In recent years, a number of sociological surveys were conducted on stigma anddiscrimination of HIV+ people and people infected with hepatitis B and C 4 . All these surveys revealed thatthe level of tolerance of different groups of people towards their peers of other ethnicities or with otherhealth status is quite low, which indicates the potential availability of discrimination in other areas, which,unfortunately, were less studied if at all. In this context, there is an obvious need to conduct acomprehensive study on stigma and discrimination in order to diagnose the existing social problems anddevelop practical recommendations aimed at reducing these phenomena in Moldova.Objectives of research. The goal of the research derives from one of the main objectives of theEquality and Civic Engagement Program of the Soros Foundation-Moldova, and namely: promoting valuesand practices underlying the fight against discrimination in the Republic of Moldova and is to study thephenomenon of discrimination and develop practical recommendations to mitigate its effects.To achieve this goal, the following objectives were developed:• Identify categories of people perceived as most frequent victims of discrimination,• Identify categories of people exposed to constant discrimination• Identify categories of people exposed to discrimination in certain social contexts (at the place ofwork, at the place of education, in public institutions),• Study discrimination as a direct, indirect and representational experience,• Study respondents' attitudes towards certain groups of people• Identify the ways of coverage by the media of different categories of people• Develop practical recommendations to reduce discrimination in the Republic of Moldova.Research methodologyResearch methods. Research methods applied in this study are as follows: Delphi research technique,face-to-face standardized interview and focus group.Research stages. The study was conducted in three stages:Stage I – research on experts using the Delphi research method.Stage II – research on general population.Stage III – conducting focus groups with experts3Ethnobarometer in the Republic of Moldova. Chisinau, 2006.4Impact Assessment. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of the population about hepatitis B and C. Chisinau, 2008.