Systemic racism and mental health services: the time is now

The Cost of Looking Different: Racism, Mental Health and Human Development of Migrants of African Descent

“…Examination of racial discrimination as one of the pathways through which mental health is impacted is rife within the literature on mental health of minority groups. Mental health concerns among people of marginalised groups tend to renew and gather more attention following incidences of racial inequality, injustice or violence (Keynejad et al, 2020;Neal-Barnett, 2020). Given that racism is a phenomenon that is systemic and has a long history, and its effect is enduring, social discourse on racism will always be topical.…”

“…Given that racism is a phenomenon that is systemic and has a long history, and its effect is enduring, social discourse on racism will always be topical. Racism is a major determinant of mental health and responsible for inequality in the mental health of people of different racial categories (Keynejad et al, 2020;Krieger, 2020;Neal-Barnett, 2020). Racism and encounters of racial discrimination greatly affect the mental health of individuals (Bor et al, 2018;Carter & Pieterse, 2020;Hackett et al, 2020) who are confronted with everyday incidences of negative differential treatment.…”