What is a vulnerable group?
Over the next few weeks I will be writing about the issues
that may affect some of the vulnerable groups on St Helena . Vulnerable people are those who are more
likely to be discriminated against than others in the society in which they
live. On St. Helena
these groups include: women; children; persons with disabilities; older persons;
those detained in prison; and people who are less well educated than others.
‘Vulnerable’ should be understood as a comparative term, and
not as a negative one. For example women in Afghanistan
are denied the right to education; in parts of China
and India girl babies are
aborted or killed at birth; in the UK women regularly apply to the
courts on the grounds that they were selected against for jobs and promotion.
All face discrimination, and all are vulnerable, to a greater or lesser extent.
Often this discrimination occurs because the people who make
up the vulnerable groups are less well represented in Government, on committees
or other decision making bodies. This means that the needs of, or the impact of
a decision on the vulnerable may not be fully understood.
Who might be vulnerable here?
Here are the statistics for the sizes of the vulnerable
groups on St. Helena :
Women
|
1959
|
49% of the total
population
|
Under 18
|
885
|
|
Over 65
|
703
|
16.5 of the total
population
|
Disabled
|
104
|
2.5% of the total
population
|
Those detained in
prison
|
5
|
This is an
average figure over the last 3 years
|
Those who are
less well educated
|
5%
|
Of the population
over 12 years old have difficulty reading and/or writing
|
In addition to
these, we have a group not represented elsewhere. During the ten years between the 1998 census and the one taken in 2008,
the island’s population declined from 5,644 to 4,255. This decline is due to
economic migration, with many people of working age leaving to go to The
Falkland Islands, Ascension and the UK . Often one or both parents of
children will go overseas, leaving their children with relatives or friends. This group contains around 185 children about 20%
of the population under 18. It is generally thought on the island that this
group of children may be particularly vulnerable but no practical research has
been done (to my knowledge) to find out if this is indeed the case.
Over the coming
weeks I will be looking at each of these groups, to see where their rights may
be being infringed. I’ll start next week
with our children and young people.