Examining Asylum Seekers’ “Other Vulnerabilities”: Intersectionality in Context

Abstract

This article explores how “other vulnerabilities” can be examined through an intersectional perspective. “Other vulnerabilities” are the ones either established in the current policy and legal framework at the international and national level or, in addition, those that have been identified throughout the VULNER research path, besides age, gender and human trafficking. These “other vulnerabilities” have been classified along three dimensions: personal, situational and administrative vulnerabilities. Against this backdrop, the present work claims how the notion of intersectionality should be used as a heuristic tool through which examine and better understand vulnerabilities. Since that intersecting vulnerabilities are the rule and not the exception, intersectionality is crucial in order to ensure a more comprehensive and tailored identification and assessment of vulnerability. Through an intersectional approach, vulnerability is not read and interpret along a presence/absence perspective, but as a condition composed of multiple layers that are susceptible to change in time and space.