Age may appear as a vulnerability factor.
The first step to thoroughly analyze the term vulnerability is to determine its etymological origin. In this case, we have to highlight that this word emanates from Latin as it is made up of three clearly differentiated Latin parts: the noun vulnus , which can be translated as “wound”; the particle – abilis , which is equivalent to “that can”; and finally the suffix – dad , which is indicative of “quality”. Hence, vulnerability can be determined as the quality that someone has to be able to be hurt .
Vulnerability is the quality of vulnerable (that is susceptible to being hurt or injured either physically or morally ). The concept can be applied to a person or a social group according to their ability to prevent, resist and overcome an impact . Vulnerable people are those who, for various reasons, have not developed this capacity and who, therefore, are at risk.
Vulnerable situation
Children, women and the elderly are often considered vulnerable subjects. This conception is given by the physical deficiencies or differences in men , who are supposed to be naturally prepared to face certain threats.
A typical example to explain the concept that society has regarding vulnerability occurs when a ship is sinking and the first to be rescued are the aforementioned groups (children, women and the elderly). It is believed that men are more likely to resist and help the rest of those affected.
Social condition affects vulnerability.
The influence of social and cultural conditions
Vulnerability is also given by social and cultural conditions . In this sense, a person who lives on the street is vulnerable to various risks ( illnesses , attacks, robberies, etc.).
On the other hand, an illiterate individual is also in a vulnerable situation since it is difficult for him or her to access the labor market and, therefore, satisfy his or her needs.
Vulnerability in computing and bridge
In the field of computing and technology in general, the term vulnerability is also frequently used. In this case, it is used to refer to all the weak or fragile points that a given program is considered to have and that can cause it to be attacked by viruses of various types.
In the same way, when a file or software is said to have vulnerability problems, we are referring to the fact that it has security gaps that can allow the entry of intruders and hackers that can endanger its confidentiality or integrity.
Likewise, we should not overlook the fact that various board games also talk about vulnerability. A clear example of this is bridge where couples who have already won a round are considered vulnerable as opposed to those who have not won any.
The concept associated with natural disasters
Another application of vulnerability, finally, is related to natural disasters . A vulnerable area is one that appears exposed to a phenomenon with destructive potential (for example, a town developed at the foot of an active volcano).
The recovery capacity that the population may have, the infrastructure it has or its governments are other factors that can make one place more vulnerable than another to certain catastrophes of this type.