Two decades of UK research on schizophrenia stigma — employment, media, discrimination and the attitudes that are now slipping backwards.
Up to 9 in 10 people with schizophrenia want a job — yet only 5–30% are employed.
of people severely affected by mental illness say discrimination remains widespread (Rethink, 2021).
is attributable to schizophrenia. The absolute risk to society is small.
Roughly nine in ten people with mental health problems report stigma and discrimination.
Want to work (up to 90%) vs actually employed (illustrative, within the reported 5–30% range)
Share of violent crime linked to schizophrenia (illustrative — the evidence states consistently below 10%)
What people severely affected by mental illness report
Attitude index: gains to 2019, then regression by 2023
Newspaper tone toward schizophrenia, 2000–2019
0x
Fear has nearly doubled
The number of people in England expressing fear of living near someone with mental health problems has nearly doubled since 2017 — an “alarming rise” researchers link to service failure and media coverage, not to any rise in risk.
Figures drawn from “Schizophrenia Stigma in the United Kingdom, 2000–2026: Evidence, Impact, and the Path to Reform” (2026), summarising peer-reviewed research, Rethink Mental Illness and Mind/King’s College London data. Some trend charts are illustrative of documented patterns.
These facts are made to be passed on.