Vulnerabilities, Care and Family Law

Wallbank, Julie; Herring, Jonathan

doi:10.4324/9780203797822

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

Section: Vulnerability As a Universal Conditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whilst the malleability of vulnerability can lead to a confused sense of understanding about what is meant by the term, some have argued that it is the indistinct boundaries of the concept that make it well suited to reflect the diversity of human experiences of adversity (Wallbank and Herring, 2014). Different constructions of vulnerability evidently have a diverse range of trajectories with manifold implications.…”

Section: Emerging Challenges In Vulnerability Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Universal approaches to understanding vulnerability have been brought into explorations of myriad empirical questions, with scholars experimenting with it as a way of furthering debates within their own specific area (see for example Wallbank and Herring (2014) on family law; Carr (2013) on housing; Carline (2009) on sex work; Beckett (2006) on disability; Satz (2013) on animal protection; Clough [this issue] on mental capacity; and Wiles (2011) on older age). In the light of this work, there seems potential for wider debate in relation to how far universal vulnerability theories might be a useful tool in work to halt or reverse the advancement of more individualised constructions of disadvantage.…”

Section: Vulnerability As a Universal Conditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is a burgeoning literature which seeks to posit a more 'radical' view of vulnerability, mainly located in critical legal studies (see Fineman, 2008;Wallbank and Herring, 2014;Mackenzie et al, 2014) and ethics literature (see Goodin, 1985). This is sometimes referred to as the 'universal vulnerability' approach (Turner, 2006) or the 'vulnerability thesis' (see Fineman, 2008Fineman, , 2013.…”

Section: Vulnerability As a Universal Conditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The Many Faces of Vulnerability

Brown¹,

Ecclestone²,

Emmel³

2017

Social Policy & Society

151

113

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Social injustices, structural and personal crises as well as intensifying stress on some citizens seem increasing preoccupations in contemporary society and social policy. In this context, the concept of vulnerability has come to play a prominent role in academic, governmental and everyday accounts of the human condition. Policy makers and practitioners are now concerned with addressing vulnerability through an expansive range of interventions. As this special issue draws attention to, a vulnerability zeitgeist or ‘spirit of the time’ has been traced in contemporary welfare and disciplinary arrangements (Brown, 2014, 2015), which now informs a range of interventions and approaches to social problems, both in the UK and internationally. As prominent examples, ‘vulnerable’ people are legally entitled to ‘priority need’ in English social housing allocations (Carr and Hunter, 2008), vulnerable victims of crime are seen as requiring special responses in the UK criminal justice system (see Roulstoneet al., 2011; Walkgate, 2011), ‘vulnerable adults’ have designated ‘protections’ under British law (Dunnet al., 2008; Clough, 2014) and vulnerable migrants and refugees are increasingly prioritised within international immigration processes (Peroni and Timmer, 2013). There is a long tradition in the field of social policy of critiquing the implications of particular concepts as mechanisms of governance, from poverty (Townsend, 1979; Lister, 2004) and social exclusion (Levitas, 1998; Young 1999) to risk (Beck, 1992; Kemshall, 2002) and resilience (Ecclestone and Lewis, 2014; Wright, 2016). Yet while vulnerability seems to be one of the latest buzzwords gathering political and cultural momentum, critiques and empirical studies of how it is operationalised in different policy and practice contexts are less well elaborated.

show abstract

Section: Vulnerability As a Universal Conditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Emerging Challenges In Vulnerability Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Vulnerability As a Universal Conditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Vulnerability As a Universal Conditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Many Faces of Vulnerability

Brown¹,

Ecclestone²,

Emmel³

2017

Social Policy & Society

151

113

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Whilst the meaning of vulnerability is often taken as self-evident, many critiques of vulnerability comment on the slipperiness of the concept (see Cole, 2016), with some questioning whether it is so vague as to render it useless (Daniel, 2010). Others have argued its fluidity makes it well-suited to facilitating understandings of the diversity of depth of the human experience (Wallbank and Herring, 2014), allowing space for shared meaning-making to operate in contested areas of policy and practice (Hewer, 2018). Detailed explorations can be found elsewhere (see Brown, 2015;, but debates centre on how the 'vulnerability zeitgeist' threatens or advances social justice.…”

Section: The Concept Of Vulnerability and Its Relevance For Drug Polimentioning

confidence: 99%

Producing the vulnerable subject in English drug policy

Brown

Wincup

2020

International Journal of Drug Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The concept of vulnerability is now deeply embedded in English drug policy, influential in governing practices such as prevention and treatment activity but yet to be subject to critical scrutiny. In this paper, we offer an appraisal of the vulnerability zeitgeist in contemporary drug policy, drawing upon insights from similar endeavours across a range of policy areas to consider the underlying assumptions and various effects of this conceptual logic. Using an approach to policy analysis which supports the questioning of deep-seated assumptions and implications of particular representations of 'problems' in social policies (often referred to as the 'What's the Problem?' [WPR] approach, Bacchi and Goodwin, 2016), we analyse the 2017 Drug Strategy to facilitate a close perspective on the texture of governance in relation to people who use drugs in England. We explore how vulnerability and drug use are in Bacchi's (2018; 6) terms 'problematized' and 'made 'real'' as a specific kind of phenomenon, drawing attention to the presuppositions and potential effects of being labelled (or not) as vulnerable. We argue that alongside bolstering targeted support, the current problematisation of vulnerability in English drug policy supports the operation of subtle disciplinary mechanisms to regulate the behaviour of those deemed vulnerable, underplaying the role of material inequalities and social divisions in the unevenness of drug-related harms. We then use the WPR approach to guide a discussion of the burgeoning multidisciplinary literature on vulnerability, exploring orientations and effects of alternative representations of the 'vulnerable' drug users. Producing the 'vulnerable' subject in these alternative ways creates a different and deeper understanding of the 'problem' and consequently its 'solutions', allowing more space for human agency to be considered and directing attention beyond drug policy towards tackling the diverse multiple social marginalisations which make some people more likely than others to experience drug-related harms.

show abstract

Concluding Thoughts

Gordon-Bouvier

2020

Palgrave Socio-Legal Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Vulnerabilities, Care and Family Law

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

The Many Faces of Vulnerability

The Many Faces of Vulnerability

Producing the vulnerable subject in English drug policy

Concluding Thoughts

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About