[Hansen's disease, exclusion and prejudice: life histories of women at Santa Catarina State].

This article describes historical notes about leprosy, from the discovery of the bacillus to the treatment done today. In this text we try to analyze the perception of some women, former leprosy patients, residents of Santa Teresa Hospital, located in the city of São Pedro de Alcântara, Santa Catarina State, on the stigma, prejudice and exclusion they suffered and still suffer today. We used the oral history of three women for research purposes and we found as a result of this "excluding" treatment over the years, that it built some kind of rejection about the disease. The search and affirmation of the identity of the stigmatized subject has become a constant. The model of social acceptance and the fact of being recognized as different and not discriminated is the main issue.