Empowering Vulnerability

The Social Model of Disability and Digital Government

Abstract

In recent years, critiques of the ‘vulnerability’ label ascribed to specific population groups have gained momentum due to its stigmatising effects. With Martha Fineman at their forefront, these voices contest that vulnerability is not limited to particular groups but universal and inherent to being human. However, operationalizing this universal conception of vulnerability poses challenges and risks, potentially leading to the inadequate protection of groups disproportionately susceptible to harm. This paper discusses the dilemma between universal and particular vulnerability paradigms, focusing on persons with disabilities within the context of digital government. Particular vulnerabilities in this context are mirrored in the digital disability divide, systemic ableism, and public service dependencies. Drawing from legal feminist, socio-legal, and disability scholarship, this paper suggests that a ‘social model approach to vulnerability’ would reconcile vulnerability perspectives and allow for a particular vulnerability approach in digital government without perpetuating stigma. Inspired by the ‘social model of disability’, this vulnerability paradigm emphasises that external factors, such as structural disadvantage and unequal power and opportunity dynamics are the primary causes of vulnerability. This shifts the focus from individual characteristics to systemic accountability.