Insane in the

Membrane:
Mental Stigma in Law and Order: SVU

Around 450 million

people currently suffer
from mental illness,
placing it among the
leading causes of ill-health
and disability worldwide
"Mental Disorders Affect One in Four People." WHO. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.

Seven of every eight survey respondents

cited television and news programs as a
source of information about mental
illness-Daniel Yanklovich Group, Inc.
Diefenbach, Donald L. "The Portrayal of Mental Illness on Prime-time Television. Journal of Community Psychology 25.3
(1997): 289-302. Web. 6 Nov. 2014

In a 1999 study, out of all

stories analyzed on the
topic of mental illness,
26% involved accounts of
crimes and/or violence
perpetrated by a person
with a mental illness
Wahl, Otto F. (2003). News media portrayal of mental illness: Implications for public policy. The American Behavioral
Scientist, 46(12), 1594.

Sandy Hook

Virginia Tech

Columbine

All crimes committed by a

person with mental illness

Thornton and Wahl Study

Upon assessment, those who
read the article on violence
were more likely to interpret the
mentally ill as dangerous and in
need of watching

It is estimated that only 3

percent to 5 percent of all
violence in the country can be
attributed to mental illness
Friedman, Richard A. "Media and madness: for better and worse, the news media and entertainment industry shape public
opinion about mental illness." The American Prospect 19.7 (2008): A2+.Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 6 Nov.
2014.

How do we fix this

problem?

1) Putting a human face on

a psychiatric illness makes it
easier for people to
empathize and identify with
those affected -Friedman
Friedman, Richard A. "Media and madness: for better and worse, the news media and entertainment industry shape public
opinion about mental illness." The American Prospect 19.7 (2008): A2+.Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 6 Nov.
2014.

2) Including epidemiologic
and statistical context
whenever covering stories
that focus on violence or
dangerousness -Friedman

Friedman, Richard A. "Media and madness: for better and worse, the news media and entertainment industry shape public
opinion about mental illness." The American Prospect 19.7 (2008): A2+.Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 6 Nov. 2014.

Ripped
from the
Headlines

33.9% of all violent crimes

on all shows were
perpetrated by the
mentally ill- Diefenbach

Diefenbach, Donald L. "The Portrayal of Mental Illness on Prime-time Television. Journal of Community Psychology 25.3
(1997): 289-302. Web. 6 Nov. 2014

Ripped
from the
Headlines

Uncle
Season 8, episode 4

Alternate
Season 9 Episode 1

Work Cited
1) Kiser, Kenn W. News_media_007. Digital image. MorgueFile. N.p., n.d. Web.
2) Psarahtonen. IMG_5889. Digital image. MorgueFile. N.p., n.d. Web.
3) "Law and Order SVU" by Daniel P. Fleming - Own work. Licensed under Creative
Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Law_and_Order_SVU.png#mediaviewer/Fil
e:Law_and_Order_SVU.png
4) "Law order svu" by Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, screengrab by
Noetsie123 - Screenshot from TV. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia
Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Law_order_svu.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Law_
order_svu.jpg
5) BBoomerinDenial. CRAIG_G.jpg. Digital image. MorgueFile. N.p., n.d. Web.
6) "VanessaPerkinsScreaming" by Bradmays - Own work. Licensed under Creative
Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VanessaPerkinsScreaming.jpg#mediaview
er/File:VanessaPerkinsScreaming.jpg