Impact of Social Inequalities and Discrimination on Vulnerability to Crises

Abstract

This rapid literature review summarises the key evidence on the impact of social inequalities and discrimination on vulnerability to crises. The review focuses on inequalities among groups in society arising from the discrimination of people based on their gender; age; disability; sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, and sex characteristics; and religious belief. It has looked for evidence on whether – and how – these inequalities and associated discriminatory norms and practices affect people’s experiences of a severe humanitarian crisis. The review looks mainly at the impact on individuals, with a final section briefly summarising key points on the impact of social inequalities and discrimination on collective vulnerability to crises. The scope of this rapid review is limited to providing some illustrative examples of the evidence relevant to this broad query. It is not a comprehensive mapping of all the available evidence; the review has been undertaken through nine days of research, through online searching of publicly available and English language materials, and input from a few experts.