We explain what vulnerability is, what are the factors involved and what types exist. Also, how to counteract vulnerabilities.
What is vulnerability?
Vulnerability is a condition under which a person may suffer some type of harm, whether physical or emotional. When an individual or a group is in a vulnerable situation, it means that they are exposed to a certain risk. It represents a state of weakness.
The vulnerability happens when a balance is broken and leads the person or society to face various negative effects. It is related to human rights, because social risk implies that the rights of the affected people are not fulfilled. For example, when basic needs are not met or when there is discrimination.
Vulnerability factors
The vulnerability originates in relation to the idea of risk which is the probability that a hazard will cause harm. The magnitude of a risk depends on both the danger or threat and the characteristics of the elements that are exposed to that circumstance.
The intensity of vulnerability depends on three factors:
- Exposure. It is an inappropriate or deficient relationship with the environment. People are in areas that pose a danger. For example, overpopulation or production systems that damage the environment.
- Fragility. It is the level of susceptibility of a population to a danger. It is made up of physical and socioeconomic conditions. For example, forms of construction or poverty.
- Resilience. It is the response and adaptation capacity that a community has to recover from significant changes in the way of life or from a catastrophe. For example, good environmental management or an adequate health system.
Types of vulnerability
Different types of vulnerability can be differentiated depending on the area in which it develops. For example:
- Social vulnerability. It refers to a deficient degree of organization and internal cohesion in a community, which does not allow it to prevent or respond effectively to risk situations. For example, the absence of community leaders or the poor functioning of institutions.
- Physical vulnerability. This is the location of populations in areas where there is physical risk due to infrastructure, lack of services or environmental conditions.
- Economic vulnerability. It develops due to the low earning capacity of a population, region or country. Poor access to goods and services, jobs or land, among others, exposes society to a greater impact from external phenomena.
- Educational vulnerability. It refers to the lack of information about the environment and preparation for emergencies. Knowing the reality of the region and how to act when faced with a problem is a prevention factor.
- Ecological vulnerability. It is about the way people coexist with the environment. On the one hand, a natural environment can be risky for a population due to climatic or natural issues; and, on the other hand, ecosystems suffer the effects of human action. This generates the deterioration of the quality of water, air and soil.
- Cultural vulnerability. It is the way in which people identify themselves as a society. This depends on the media, the information available, the transmission of stereotypes and values. It influences how a group reacts to danger.
- Political vulnerability. It develops from a low level of participation in the decision-making of a community. The lack of autonomy of institutions generates poor risk management. Bureaucracy and corruption, for example, prevent or delay the implementation of appropriate responses.
How to counteract vulnerabilities?
Some measures that can be taken to counteract vulnerabilities are:
- Reduce risks as much as possible. For example, through alerts that allow the preparation of both a person and a country.
- Strengthen existing capabilities or resources to be in the best conditions in the face of possible dangers.
- Treat the causes that generate vulnerability. For example, inequality or poor government management.
References
- Forster, J. (1994). Reverse the spiral of vulnerability. International Magazine of the Red Cross(124), 327-335. https://international-review.icrc.org/
- Vera Rodríguez, JM and Albarracín Calderón, AP (2017). Methodology for the analysis of vulnerability to threats of flooding, mass removal and torrential flows in hydrographic basins. New Granada Science and Engineering27(2), 109-136. http://dx.doi.org/
