Abstract
Vulnerability is a notion which serves as a motif, particularly within the fields of social policy and practice. However, despite its growing use, the concept is of itself vulnerable with both its meaning and parameters remaining ‘somewhat elusive’ (Munro and Scoular, 2012: 189). In Vulnerability and Young People, Brown successfully synthesizes the concept of vulnerability from philosophical debate, through to policies and interventions, and to lived experiences, guiding the reader along the thread and beautifully weaving a captivating narrative. Through investigation of the theoretical and real-world implications of vulnerability, Brown brings some clarity to an otherwise ‘unclear, catch-all concept’ (Misztal, 2011: 5). Brown’s message, as with that of others, is that vulnerability is a double-edged sword – whilst it can be used as a tool for effective social change, the manner in which it is deployed allows agencies to control and manage ‘problematic’ individuals (see also Munro and Scoular, 2012). Her ‘central contention’ (p. 25) within this book ‘is that in a context of economic liberalism and welfare retrenchment, the rise of vulnerability in policy and practice can serve to further marginalise those who might be considered the “most vulnerable”’ (p. 25) – something which Brown later reiterates (p. 191). Brown’s text is divided into eight chapters; each exquisitely written with wonderfully worded titles which allude to the various themes unpacked and exposed throughout. The text combines a literature review of vulnerability (Chapters 1 and 2), an analysis of the rise of vulnerability within national policy (Chapter 3), and a case study (Chapters 4–7), thus affording adequate attention to both theoretical and empirical discussion. The empirical element includes interviews with 25 ‘vulnerable’ young people aged 12–18 and interviews with 15 providers (practitioners and policy makers). The case study also includes ethnographic immersion in practitioner worlds. The fieldwork was conducted in a large city in England (with a population of around 750,000) and access was secured through six ‘gatekeeper’ agencies (p. 19).
Discussion begins with the narratives of two vulnerable young people (Brown also ends on a similar note). By commencing in such a way, Brown achieves two equally important goals. Firstly, she prompts the reader to consider the meaning of vulnerability through exploring the lived experiences of vulnerable young people. Secondly, by placing these two narratives at the outset of the text, Brown highlights their symbolic significance. These accounts are essential to generating a deeper understanding of an inherently problematic concept. Brown’s interest in vulnerability, as she explains in Chapter 1, was ‘something that developed gradually through a mixture of experience working in the voluntary sector services for “vulnerable” people, and later through returning to university to learn more about social approaches to “problem groups”’ (p. 5). She explains that, whilst often deploying the term vulnerable during her employment, she became ‘increasingly uneasy about this’ (p. 5). Through her work she experienced the ways in which vulnerability was ‘to some extent conditional on “appropriate” behaviour’ (p. 5) and linked to the notion of deservingness (p. 6).
In Chapter 1,
Thereafter, Brown addresses how vulnerability is used and interpreted by those who ‘design and deliver services’ (p. 71) for ‘vulnerable’ young people (Chapter 2). Here she draws attention to the dual purpose of vulnerability – the label brings with it the potential for increased support for young people and can also conversely result in tougher punitive sanctions (see pp. 84–85). Brown also highlights how the ‘wider structure, systems and processes’ (p. 89) such as performance indicators can result in ‘cherry-picking’ (pp. 89–90). The impact of structure is also explored later (Chapter 7 – ‘The Social Mediation of Vulnerability’) but from the perspective of the ‘vulnerable’ young people, where Brown notes the ‘balancing act’ between care, control, and consultation (pp. 161–165). These two chapters, taken together, contain important lessons for policy makers or those involved in ‘vulnerability management’ who would be wise to heed Brown’s findings.
In Chapter 5, Brown explores the life stories of young people, detailing the difficulties they have encountered, the relationship between transgression and vulnerability (an important thread to understanding vulnerability), and their ‘imagined futures’, before moving on to examine the lived experiences of vulnerable young people (Chapter 6). In the aptly named ‘Vulnerable Identities?’ (Chapter 6), Brown discusses her most notable finding – the rejection, by these young people, of the vulnerable label (p. 134). Chapter 6 is brilliantly written and generates a deeper understanding into what vulnerability means. For example, while vulnerability is a subjective term, Brown identified a common thread whereby the notion ‘was associated with personal weakness and deficit’ (p. 127). Brown also explores the relationship of vulnerability with agency, choice, resilience, control, and lack of physical power. Vulnerability is appreciated as a term that has ‘gendered dimensions’ (p. 92) for providers and users of services (see pp. 92–95 and 127–129), viewed as a ‘masculinity deficit’ (p. 128) and tied to the ‘sexuality of young women’ (p. 128). It is also ‘socially constituted’ (pp. 130–131), ‘subject to revision and reassessment’ (p. 140), and ‘influenced through relations with others’ (p. 140).
While vulnerability may denote positive characteristics, it may also have negative connotations (see Levine, 2004: 396). The latter was true for all but one of the vulnerable young people (pp. 141–144). Most of the young people viewed their lives as ordinary and the vulnerability label posed a significant challenge to this. Moreover, the label was rejected by the young people as it undermined their strength and ability to overcome adversity. This resonates with a quote from Fineman, where she notes that vulnerability can have the effect of marking individuals ‘as lesser, imperfect, and deviant’ thereby placing ‘them somehow outside of the protection of the social contract as it is applied to others’ (Fineman, 2013: 16). Linked with this, Brown thus suggests that vulnerability is ‘more of a “top down” rather than “grass roots” phenomenon’ (p. 147), commenting that resistance is ‘unsurprising given how far dependency has been positioned as the antithesis of “normal” and acceptable citizenship’ (p. 147). Brown ties the threads together in ‘Vulnerability, Care and Social Control’ (Chapter 8) and draws upon Foucault’s idea of ‘governmentality’. She also sets out three sensible recommendations (pp. 192–193) that have implications for policy, practice, and research. Firstly, she calls for greater scrutiny of vulnerability-based approaches. Secondly, she seeks a ‘more overt acknowledgement that “vulnerability” and “transgression” are not mutually exclusive states’ (p. 192). Finally she asks for further investigation into ‘how vulnerability connects with and is shaped by normative assumptions and practices’ (p. 193).
Although I would describe Brown’s work as utterly brilliant, there are some broad-brush statements that I find rather troublesome. The grouping together of ‘offenders’ and ‘victims’ is somewhat problematic as it is well established that the former do not attract the same level of protection on account of their vulnerabilities when compared with the latter (Brown briefly mentions the protection for witnesses and victims – see p. 10). The notion of a vulnerable victim is not a particularly thorny issue. Vulnerable victims are afforded protection through the ‘special measures’ (Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999). By contrast, vulnerable suspects and defendants provide a perfect example of the interplay between vulnerability and transgression. By virtue of being suspected of committing an offence, an individual’s vulnerable identity is somewhat compromised. This links nicely with the idea of ‘performing’ vulnerability. On a related point, Brown, when discussing offenders, does not differentiate between the categories (e.g. detainee, ‘suspect’, defendant, and ‘convict’). The significance of this distinction is twofold. Firstly, at a practical level, the protection afforded to an individual is dependent upon his/her status, that is, the ‘vulnerability criteria’ for ‘suspects’ differs to that for defendants at trial. Secondly, at a conceptual level, even defendants in the criminal process may not necessarily be offenders in the sense that they may never have actually offended. While greater exploration may have overcomplicated discussion, these important distinctions should nevertheless be made. Moreover, these examples provide interesting comparative discussion for exploring the deployment of vulnerability – the concept is used for different purposes depending on its context.
Vulnerability and Young People is essential to anyone exploring and interacting with the concept of vulnerability (particularly Chapters 1–3). It is an important read for those who are interested in social policy, young people, youth justice, and (albeit to a lesser extent) gender or criminal justice. Brown has carefully struck the delicate balance between viewing young people as ‘“fragile” and marginalised in some ways’ and affording them autonomy as ‘potentially skilled social actors’ (p. 18). With the exception of the criticisms (above) and a typo on p. 56, Brown’s work is sophisticated and engaging, yet easily digestible and accessible. The text is both theoretically and empirically relevant. The empirical analysis is rich, thick, nuanced and carefully situated within the existing literature. Brown’s account of vulnerability is both convincing and credible, particularly as she does not shy away from exploring the negative case. By involving practitioners and young people, Brown provides a holistic and multifaceted account of vulnerability. She has admirably tackled an important, sensitive, and highly contentious topic with rigor, attentiveness, empathy, and understanding. Leaving the reader with a quote from John (male, 16) urging that we ‘try and figure it out first’ (p. 195) Brown’s ending is as powerful as her beginning and serves to further highlight that vulnerability should be approached with scrutiny, caution, and care.