Putting People First: Practice, Challenges and
Innovation in Characterizing and Mapping Social
Groups
Introduction to Social Vulnerability
What is Social Vulnerability?
Social vulnerability refers to potential harm to people. It involves a combination of factors that
determine the degree to which someone's life and livelihood are put at risk by a discrete and
identifiable event in nature or in society.
Social vulnerability refers to the characteristics of a person or group in terms of their capacity to
anticipate, cope with, resist and recovery from the impact of a natural hazard (Wisner et al.,
2004)."
Social vulnerability refers to the resilience of communities when confronted by external stresses
on human health, stresses such as natural or human-caused disasters, or disease outbreaks.
Reducing social vulnerability can decrease both human suffering and economic loss
(http://svi.cdc.gov/).
Social vulnerability refers to the inability of people, organizations, and societies to withstand
adverse impacts from multiple stressors to which they are exposed. These impacts are due in part
to characteristics inherent in social interactions, institutions, and systems of cultural values (Wiki).
Social vulnerability refers to the susceptibility of social groups to potential losses from hazard
events of society’s resistance and resilience to hazard (Blaikie et al., 1994; Hewitt, 1977)
Vulnerability vs. Resilience
Disaster or Shock
Vulnerability Resilience
How does the damage and How does social groups
loss to people occur and its maintain its functions and/or
causes? recover from the disruption?
Social characteristics or Indicators:
Income, access to basic services, assess to social protection, attitude and culture to risk /
disasters, social capital, etc.
Vu ln e ra b ility
S c e n a rio O u tp u ts
model
In te n s ity, fre q u e n c y,
Ha z a rd e v e n t p ro b a b ility, h a z a rd z o n e
Ha z a rd
zone
P o p u la tio n , p ro p e rty,
E x p o s u re
fa c ilitie s , e c o s y s te m ...
Social Vulnerability P h y s ic a l
Vu ln e ra b ility
Da m a g e to p ro p e rty,
Assessment in the
P h y s ic a l d a m a g e fa c ilitie s , e c o s y s te m ...
F u n c tio n in g
Vu ln e ra b ility
Risk Assessment
Dis ru p tio n o f c o m m u n ic a tio n ,
F u n c tio n in g im p a c t p o we r s u p p ly, wa te r s u p p ly,
p u b lic s e rv ic e s ...
E c o n o m ic
Process
Vu ln e ra b ility
L iv e lih o o d , p ro d u c tiv ity,
E c o n o m ic im p a c t G DP...
S o c ia l
Vu ln e ra b ility
P o p u la tio n d is p la c e m e n t,
S o c ia l im p a c t b re a k d o wn o f s o c ia l o rd e r,
p a n ic ...
Co m p o s ite ris k p ro file s
Ris k
and maps
A Contextual Framework for
Characterizing and Mapping Socially Vulnerable Groups (SVGs):
Risk / Disaster
Hazard Maps
Scenarios
Social Vulnerability Strategy,
policy,
Indicators for SVGs’
solutions for
categorizing Exposure to Social Resilience managing
SVGs Hazards
SVGs’ risks and
Special Needs disasters
Social
Characteristics
or Indicators
Dimensions of Categorizing Socially Vulnerable
Groups
• Poverty
• Class/caste
• Race/Ethnicity
• Religion
Socially
• Gender
Vulnerable • Age such as the elderly (> 65), the children (<5)
Groups • Disability
• Health
• Language/literacy
• Households and families, such as single-parental household
Dimensions of Social Vulnerability
After Cutter et al. (2003)
• Level of poverty
• Lack of or limited access to resources such as information, knowledge
and technology
• Lack of or limited access to political power and representation
(marginalization, exclusive)
Socially • Lack of or limited social capital including social networks and
Vulnerable connections
Group • Inadequate beliefs, customs and attitude in response to risk or disasters
• Vulnerable residential settings (i.e. weak structure, poor protection, poor
maintenance, etc.)
• Frail and physical limited individuals
• Lack of or Limited access to critical services such as communication,
transportation, power supply, water supply, sanitation, etc.
Questions for Discussion
• How to correctly understand the concept of social vulnerability?
• How to categorize Socially Vulnerable Groups in terms of the context?
• How to select indexing or analytic approaches to social vulnerability
assessment?
• How to collect and keep data current?
• How to use information on social vulnerability in development
planning and disaster management?
