105 by assessing their perceptions towards others with the same condition (within group) and different stigmatised health conditions (across group), and willingness to participate in such a venture. This study found that the perception of people living with stigmatised health conditions towards one another was driven by knowledge, understanding and relatedness to the diseases and experience of living with stigma. Overall, the participants supported the idea of a common stigma reduction intervention across the health conditions. The main findings of this study are discussed below. Within-group empathy guided by relatedness This study found that people living with HIV, leprosy and diabetes were generally empathetic towards others with the same health condition. The feeling of empathy came from understanding the adversities associated with the disease that the person himself/herself experienced, and the awareness and the ability to relate to what others with the health condition may be going through. Studies have shown that stigmatised individuals show connection and interrelatedness towards others with the same disease and identify themselves as a part of a group, demonstrating empathy and support towards other group members (Crabtree et al., 2010; Latner et al., 2008). Since most of the participants in this study were recruited from community-
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