Giving a Voice to the ‘Hard to Hear’ - Informing Digital Futures: Strategies for Citizen Engagement - page 80

5.2 Citizens at Risk from Social Exclusion
There is no standard definition of social exclusion. The British Govern-
ment's own definition of social exclusion is that it is: “ a shorthand term
for what can happen when people or areas suffer from a combination of
linked problems such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, unfair
discrimination, poor housing, high crime, bad health and family break-
down ” (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 2004).
Essentially, those who are socially excluded “ have little access to power
and decision-making bodies and little chance of influencing decisions or
policies that affect them ” (Combat Poverty n.d.). This definition continues:
they have “ little chance of bettering their standard of living ”, reflecting a
focus on social and economic disadvantage as being causative factors.
Thus much work on social inclusion addresses low-income and poverty
as key factors. For example the s2net (The Social and Sector based
E-learning enhanced by Professional Open and Distance Learning Net-
works) project, which aimed to use e-learning in vocational training to
help prevent old and new forms of social exclusion, concluded that “ un-
employment is the most obvious, immediate, statistically valid factor of ex-
clusion ” (s2net Project 2003). Someone with a well-paid job, a good social
network and high social status, for example, a manager or professional, is
therefore likely to be the most socially included. At the other end of the
spectrum, the unemployed who lack a social network or social status, and
the homeless tend to be the most excluded. In between, ethnic groups such
as immigrants, who do have paid work but may suffer low social status in
their new country of domicile, would count among the socially excluded.
The s2net project (2003) identifies the following groups as being at par-
ticular risk of exclusion:
• young people in general. Young people can face social exclusion be-
cause they have no power or influence (e.g. can't vote);
• immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Visa problems can exclude
access to work or voluntary work;
• people with disabilities;
• homeless people;
• elderly people. Older people can face social exclusion due to isolation
from their families and fear of going out;
• the unemployed;
• people on low income/benefits;