Abstract
The concept of group vulnerability presents similarities to other concepts that are best kept separate: that of minority, discrimination, and victimhood. The aim of this chapter is to highlight both similarities and differences between the category of group vulnerability and these three dimensions: this does not exclude possible overlaps, which are of course possible and present, but it highlights the conceptual autonomy of each dimension, and consequently the different strategies of protection. In the first part, the chapter analyses how processes of collective victimisation shape the vulnerability of a group and overlap with it. In the second part, it discusses the condition of minority groups, in order to understand whether or not the protection of minorities is in itself adequate to deal with issues of group vulnerability. Finally, the last part of the chapter is devoted to a discussion of the relationship between discrimination and group vulnerability, showing how closely they are connected and, at the same time, how profoundly different they are.
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Notes
- 1.
Fineman argues that “Vulnerability is typically associated with victimhood, deprivation, dependency, or pathology (…) In contrast, I want to claim the term ‘vulnerable’ for its potential in describing a universal, inevitable, enduring aspect of the human condition that must be at the heart of our concept of social and state responsibility” (pp. 9–10).
- 2.
They argue (p. 240) that in the context of intractable conflict, such an ethos emerges with eight traits: societal beliefs outline the justness of one’s own goals, indicate their crucial importance, and provide explanations and rationales for them. Societal beliefs about security highlight the importance of both personal safety and national survival, at the same time outlining the conditions for their achievement. People tend to attribute positive traits, values, and behaviour to one’s own society, in an ethnocentric manner. The collective sense of one’s own condition produce a self-presentation as a victim, especially in the context of the intractable conflict. Opponents are delegitimised, also through beliefs that deny the adversary’s humanity. Attachment to the country and society generates a form of patriotism that propagates loyalty, care, and sacrifice. Societal beliefs about unity stress the importance of ignoring internal conflicts during intractable conflict in order to join forces in the face of the external threat. Finally, societal beliefs about peace make it the ultimate desire of the society.
- 3.
Italian Constitutional Court, Judgement no. 88 of 2011.
- 4.
The Racial Equality Directive (2000/43/EC), Article 2(1)(a).
- 5.
So the Principle 17 of the European Pillar of Social Rights, dedicated to people with disabilities: “People with disabilities have the right to income support that ensures living in dignity, services that enable them to participate in the labour market and in society, and a work environment adapted to their needs”. See also the new European strategy on the rights of persons with disabilities for 2021–2030, at https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/social-summit-european-pillar-social-rights-booklet_en.pdf.
- 6.
Directive on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (recast), (2006/54/EC), Article 2(1)(a); and Directive 2000/78/EC establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation.
- 7.
Council Directive 2004/113/EC of 13 December 2004 implementing the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services, Article 2(1)(a).
- 8.
See, for example, Griggs v. Duke Power (401 U.S. 424 (1971), where the Supreme Court held that formally race-neutral provisions can have discriminatory effects in practice, regardless of the author’s intention to discriminate.
- 9.
Shanaghan v. U.K. 2001 (Application no. 37715/97), para. 12; see also D.H. e a. c. Czech Republic [GC] (Application no. 57325/00). In the United States, Courts introduced indirect discrimination in Griggs vs. Duke Power (401 U.S. 424, 1974), where “practices, procedures, or tests neutral on their face, and even neutral in terms of intent, cannot be maintained if they operate to ‘freeze’ the status quo of prior discriminatory employment practices” (401 US 430).
- 10.
On the etymology of the term vulnerability, see the Merriam-Webster: Vulnerable is ultimately derived from the Latin noun vulnus (“wound”). “Vulnus” led to the Latin verb vulnerare, meaning “to wound,” and then to the Late Latin adjective vulnerabilis, which became “vulnerable” in English in the early 1600s.
- 11.
On the matter see https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2020/12/11/la-ville-de-paris-mise-a-l-amende-pour-avoir-nomme-trop-de-directrices_6063019_823448.html, accessed 23 December 2021.
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Macioce, F. (2022). Group Vulnerability and Parallel Dimensions. In: The Politics of Vulnerable Groups. Critical Political Theory and Radical Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07547-6_5
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