Abstract
In Canada, over 4.4 million people experience food insecurity, a serious public health issue characterized by inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints. Globally, women experience disproportionately high rates of food insecurity, which can be a highly stigmatizing experience that is associated with feelings of shame and social isolation. This narrative review explores how and why social beliefs and stigma contribute to social exclusion among women experiencing food insecurity within high-income countries, and how enhancing the capacity for empathetic responses to feelings of shame, and efforts to strengthen women’s resilience to shame, can lead to a reduction in stigma. The thematic analysis of the articles included in this review resulted in four themes: 1) the mechanisms of food insecurity-related social exclusion; 2) charitable responses to food insecurity and stigma, shame, and social exclusion; 3) women’s experiences with food insecurity, stigma, shame, and social exclusion; and 4) empathy and shame resilience. The findings of this review suggest that dominant responses to food insecurity contribute to stigma, shame, and social exclusion among women, and that the inadequacy of existing policy responses to address food insecurity has wide-reaching ramifications on the health and well-being of women and their families.
Highlights
Over 4.4 million Canadians lived in food insecure households in 2017/2018 (Tarasuk & Mitchell, 2020)
The thematic analysis of the articles included in this narrative review identified four overarching themes: 1) the mechanisms of food insecurity-related social exclusion; 2) shame, stigma, and social exclusion associated with use of charitable food programs; 3) women’s experiences with food insecurity, shame, stigma, and social exclusion; and 4) empathy, shame resilience, and resistance
Recognizing that gaps exist in the published research, the findings of this narrative review point to three key mechanisms whereby food insecurity contributes to stigmatization, shame, and social exclusion, underscoring insights from and limitations of the understandings reflected in the literature: 1) the exclusionary and potentially damaging nature of dominant healthy eating discourses; 2) alienation due to inequities in social standing; and 3) the importance of food for social and cultural identity
Summary
Over 4.4 million Canadians lived in food insecure households in 2017/2018 (Tarasuk & Mitchell, 2020). While the manifestation of food insecurity is dynamic and may differ among individuals within the same household, the four components at the individual level generally present as insufficient intake of food, compromised dietary quality, feelings of deprivation or lack of choice, and disrupted eating patterns, respectively (Hamelin et al, 2002; Radimer et al, 1990; Tarasuk, 2001; Williams et al, 2010, 2012). In Canada and other high-income countries, the prevalence and severity of household food insecurity is measured based on inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints, and it is considered a powerful indicator of broader material deprivation (Tarasuk & Mitchell, 2020)
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