Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Vulnerable, marginal – helpful labels?

How do social, health and other government services define people as ‘vulnerable’ and ‘marginal’, and are these labels helpful or meaningful?

A new book, co-authored by Associate Professor Mark Henrickson from the School of Social Work at Massey University and Professor Christa Fouché from the University of Auckland, draws on international research to explore vulnerability and marginality as they intersect with notions of power and privilege.

Vulnerability and Marginality in Human Services is essential reading for students and researchers involved with social work, social policy, sociology, and gender and sexuality studies.

The publication applies the lens of intimacy and sexuality to critically consider notions of vulnerability and marginality from practice, policy, research and research ethics perspectives, Dr Henrickson says.

“Vulnerability and marginality are not essential categories but constructed categories. Neoliberal governments and their agents are invested in maintaining these categories as essential because this allows them to maintain social control of vulnerable persons under the banner of managing risk. We propose alternative practice, policy and ethical approaches.”

Dr Henrickson says this book is particularly timely in New Zealand and globally, as it coincides with the Vulnerable Children’s Act and the establishment of the Ministry of Vulnerable Children/Oranga Tamariki. “This language of vulnerability and risk management is being used uncritically. We hope our book will encourage people to stop and think about how these notions are used.”

Vulnerability has traditionally been conceived as a dichotomised status, where an individual by reason of a personal characteristic is classified as vulnerable or not, Dr Fouché says. “However, vulnerability is not static. Most, if not all people, are vulnerable at some time in their lives. Similarly, marginality is a social construct linked to power and control. Marginalised populations are relegated to the perimeters of power by legal and political structures and limited access to resources. Neither are fixed or essential categories.”

The book examines these concepts in relation to a range of professions, including social work, psychology, nursing, and allied health. A strong emphasis on the fluidity and complexity of what it means to be vulnerable and marginal across cultures and at different times makes this a unique contribution to scholarship in this field.

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