empowering
The process has been completely disempowering for young people.
There's traditionally been nothing more disempowering than becoming a hospital patient.
Telling people they have a chronic mental illness can be a disempowering message.
Some of your critics have said that what you do is disempowering to women and they have problems with it.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Lack of freedom to act
be in bondage to somethingidiom
be locked in something
bondage
bound
boxed in
disenfranchisement
heel
lock
non-voluntary
nonindependence
oppressed
servitude
shackle
someone's hands are tiedidiom
tethered
thumb
tie
tie someone to something/someone
tool
unfreedom

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Discouraging and putting off