ABSTRACT
The study focused on analyzing stigma from the perspective of people with disabilities with the aim to strengthen the voice of people with disabilities. The study was conducted in five cities in Vietnam from August to November 2017, with the participation of individuals with different disabilities such as visual, hearing, mobility, communicative, and cognitive disabilities. The findings of the research showed that perceived stigma was still prevalent, with 43% of the participants experiencing perceived stigma, and was related to gender, age, type of disability, and the individual's multiple disabilities status. The findings of the research reveal the need for: (i) further research and/or review at institutional and systematic levels, focusing on assessing current policies and programmes in Vietnam on eliminating or causing stigma and discrimination towards people with disabilities, paying attention to factors such as age, gender, type of disability, and one's multiple disabilities status in these policies and programmes; and (ii) simultaneous review of efforts at institutional and systematic levels to reduce stigma and/or discrimination, to find out which practices work. Based on the outcomes from (i) and (ii), measures can be mapped out to eliminate disability-related stigma at the institutional level.
