The way we treat each other

There is a heavy burden of disease associated with family violence, discrimination, bullying and social exclusion. These important causes of suffering and loss of productivity all relate to a very fundamental feature of human existence and civil(ised) societies — the way we treat each other. We can, and do, make each other sick. Reducing the resultant human and economic costs has major implications for the way we distribute opportunity, wealth and amenity. These, in turn, have implications for the way we protect and empower minority groups, and for legislation, education and the availability of, and access to, services.