Neviditeľná stigma: “Nie sme len antivaxeri”
- Slivková, N.(2025). Neviditeľná stigma: "Nie sme len antivaxeri". Bratislava - Staré Mesto: Ústav etnológie a sociálnej antropológie SAV, v. v. i.
This publication focuses on the experiences of parents in Slovakia who have decided to refuse or delay mandatory childhood vaccination. Its aim is to understand the formation and maintenance of beliefs about the harmfulness of vaccination in a society where vaccination functions as a dominant social and medical norm.
Based on qualitative research that combines in-depth interviews with parents and digital ethnography of online communities, the study examines vaccine refusal not as a one-time decision, but as a process that affects multiple areas of parents’ lives and is associated with specific social, psychological-emotional, and practical costs. The analysis focuses on identifying these costs as they emerge within this normative context, as well as on the ways in which parents manage uncertainty, risk, and responsibility. Particular attention is paid to experiences of stigmatization, social exclusion, and moral judgment, as well as to the strategies parents use to cope with these pressures in family settings. The publication also highlights the importance of digital spaces as sources of support, information, and mutual solidarity for these parents—benefits that are sometimes difficult to access in offline contexts.
Keywords:
anti-vaccination beliefs; stigma; social norms; social costs; digital ethnography
