A badge of [[shame]], also a [[symbol]] of shame, mark of shame, or simply a '''stigma''', is typically a distinctive symbol required to be worn by a specific [[group]] or an [[individual]] for the [[purpose]] of public [[humiliation]] or [[persecution]]. Under the Poor Law Act of 1697, paupers in receipt of parish relief were required to wear a badge of blue or red cloth on the shoulder of the right sleeve in an open and visible [[manner]], in order to make life more humiliating for the [[poor]]. | A badge of [[shame]], also a [[symbol]] of shame, mark of shame, or simply a '''stigma''', is typically a distinctive symbol required to be worn by a specific [[group]] or an [[individual]] for the [[purpose]] of public [[humiliation]] or [[persecution]]. Under the Poor Law Act of 1697, paupers in receipt of parish relief were required to wear a badge of blue or red cloth on the shoulder of the right sleeve in an open and visible [[manner]], in order to make life more humiliating for the [[poor]]. |