Brits have been ‘dumped’ and faced discrimination in relationships because of their health conditions
One in 10 adults with a chronic health condition believe their illness has been a factor in them being dumped – a behaviour described as ‘discrimidating.’
A recent survey of 500 adults with a chronic health condition and 1000 without, discovered that nearly three in 10 think it’s unlikely people would opt to start a relationship with someone they knew or perceived to have a health condition.
Of the 500 adults with a health condition, 16% felt their condition resulted in a partner mistreating them or showing discriminatory behaviour.
One in 10 have been patronised by their partners and 10% have had their condition ‘minimised’, while 9% have suffered controlling behaviour.
The poll was commissioned by Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre, creators of continuous glucose sensing technology, in anticipation of World Diabetes Day on November 14th.
The study found that 13% of the 500 with a health condition believe they’ve been rejected for a date due to health conditions such as Type 2 diabetes.
Consequently, 58% of those who use dating apps were ‘unlikely’ to reveal their health status on their profiles as they feared being stigmatised and discriminated against.
More specifically, 47% of those with Diabetes avoid mentioning their condition on social media. As 79% think it’s no one else’s and others argue they don’t want it to define them.
Neil Harris, the divisional vice president of West Europe for Abbott’s diabetes care business, expressed: “Unfortunately, diabetes bias and prejudice are common in our society.”
“By calling out “discrimidating”, the act of rejecting someone for something they can’t help, we hope to make it easier for people to discuss medical conditions, raise awareness, and erase stigmatising behaviour.”
