Vulnerability is the particularity that a subject has of being able to be hurt. A vulnerable individual is likely to be hurt either level physical or moral. In this sense, this term can be applied to a community or a person, depending on their ability to avoid, endure and overcome an impact. Vulnerability means that people do not improve their ability to prevent, resist and overcome any adversity.
People who are generally considered highly vulnerable are the elderly, women and children. This idea is taken by the belief that men, due to their physical characteristics, are naturally stronger to face certain situations.
Vulnerability is also related to the social and cultural situation.
That is, a person who is on the street, is a person vulnerable to bad things happening to him, for example, he can be physically abused, he can fall into vices (drugs, alcohol, crime), diseases, etc. In the same way, a subject who cannot read or write is vulnerable, since it is a bit complicated for him to get a good job, therefore he will not be able to satisfy his basic needs.
The level of vulnerability of a person and his ability to face and overcome dangers depends on certain factors: physical, economic, political and social. It is very clear that poverty is a very influential factor in terms of vulnerability, since a poor person is susceptible to living or working in danger zones and therefore less likely to have the necessary resources to face any problem. disaster.
Generally, in developed countries, people have better resilience to the effects of a disaster; They are people who are better protected and have a good preparation system.
The most vulnerable people were previously said to be the elderly, children and women; However, there are other social groups that also present vulnerability, some of them are: displaced people, disabled people, refugees, returnees, the dispossessed.
It is important to mention that in addition to people, also objects and certain situations can suffer vulnerability to something. In this sense, vulnerability can be classified as follows:
- Social vulnerability: helplessness in the face of risks, pressures or traumas due to the social situation that the individual or group may present.
- Environmental vulnerability: occurs when certain species can become vulnerable to changes in their natural habitat, a situation that puts them in danger of extinction.
- Labor vulnerability: refers to the labor instability of a subject.
