Webinar: Spotlight on the Unintended Consequences of Stigma Reduction Campaigns
Thursday 23 October 2025 | Online
Stigma reduction campaigns are designed to challenge harmful attitudes toward conditions such as HIV, mental illness, and other health issues. But what happens when those well-meaning messages backfire? The UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health (the team behind Tackling Stigma in Healthcare) is shining a light on this complex question in the next Spotlight on Stigma seminar.
From 9:00 – 10:00 AM AEDT on Thursday 23 October, international experts and community advocates will explore how stigma reduction efforts can sometimes lead to adverse unintended consequences — and what we can learn from them.
Why unintended consequences matter
While stigma campaigns are powerful tools for shifting attitudes, research shows they can also reinforce stereotypes, deepen misconceptions, or cause harm to the very communities they aim to support. To tackle this issue, Professors Jason T. Siegel (Claremont Graduate University, USA) and Marco Yzer (University of Minnesota, USA) will present their newly developed typology of adverse unintended effects, offering practical insights into how campaigns can be designed with more care.
Adding to this discussion, two powerful voices from Scarlet Alliance — the national peak body for sex workers in Australia — will speak from lived experience about how stigma, messaging, and policy intersect in real life.
The speakers
Jason T. Siegel – Professor of Social Psychology, Claremont Graduate University. Expert in persuasion, motivation, and mental health communication.
Marco Yzer – Professor of Health Communication, University of Minnesota. Specialist in message processing and mental health behaviors.
Dr Elena Jeffreys – Advocacy Manager, Scarlet Alliance. Long-time sex worker advocate, peer educator, and researcher.
Aisya A. Zaharin – PhD researcher, trans rights advocate, and Migration Policy Analyst with Scarlet Alliance, working on justice for Asian migrant sex workers.
About Spotlight on Stigma
Presented by the UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health, the Spotlight on Stigma series explores cutting-edge research, policy, and practice. The seminars are designed to build shared literacy around stigma concepts, involve people with lived experience at the center of the conversation, and support practical action to reduce stigma across healthcare and society.
Event details
Date: Thursday, 23 October 2025
Time: 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM AEDT
Location: Online (Zoom link provided upon registration)
Facilitators: Dr Elena Cama and Scientia Professor Carla Treloar