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SECTION 1 2 3
EXTREME INEQUALITY
(CASE STUDY CONTINUED)
Carmen, 34, lives in another neighbourhood in Tegucigalpa, which has no
running water, no street lights, and no tarmac roads to permit access to
cars. A number of her friends and family have been murdered; two were
killed inside her house.
‘I feel completely unprotected by the state, mostly because the state
is not concerned with us [residents of her neighbourhood]. Quite the
opposite, they stigmatize us by labelling our neighbourhoods as “hotneighbourhoods”,
meaning that they know the difficult situation we live
in here and choose to do nothing about it. I’ve tried to denounce acts
of violence against women that occur in my community, but every time
I have been stopped by gangs who have told me that I have to ask their
permission before reporting an abuse.’
Quotes taken from Oxfam interviews (2014).
“
The persistence of inequality
could trigger social and
political tensions, and lead
to conflict as is currently
happening in parts of Asia.
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK 241
“
Evidence has clearly linked greater inequality to higher rates of violence –
including domestic violence – and crime, particularly homicides and assaults. 242
Compared to more equal countries, those with extreme economic inequality
experience nearly four times the number of homicides. 243 While all in society are
affected, violence and crime have a disproportionate impact on those living in
poverty, who receive little protection from the police or legal systems, often live
in vulnerable housing, and cannot afford to pay for private security.
Countries in Latin America starkly illustrate this trend. 244 Despite the social
and economic advances of the last two decades, Latin America remains the
most unequal and the most insecure region in the world, 245 with 41 of the
world’s 50 most dangerous cities, and one woman murdered every 18 hours. 246
A staggering one million people were murdered in Latin America between
2000 an 2010. 247
Greater inequality has frequently been linked to the onset and risk of violent
conflict. 249 Many of the most unequal countries in the world are affected by
conflict or fragility. Alongside a host of political factors, Syria’s hidden fragility
before 2011 was, in part, driven by rising inequality, as falling government
subsidies and a fall in public sector employment affected some groups
more than others. 250 Inequality does not crudely ‘cause conflict’ more than
any other single factor, but it has become increasingly clear that inequality
is part of the combustible mix of factors making conflict or substantial
violence more likely. 251
“
No society can surely
be flourishing and happy, of
which the far greater part of
the members are poor and
miserable. It is but equity,
besides, that they who feed,
clothe and lodge the whole
body of the people, should
have such a share of the
produce of their own labour
as to be themselves tolerably
well fed, clothed and lodged.
ADAM SMITH 248
“
LIVING IN FEAR
In cities around the world people live in fear of walking alone; they are afraid
to stop their cars at traffic lights and can no longer enjoy family outings to
parks or beaches; all due to the fear that they may be attacked. 252 These are
important infringements of basic human freedoms and have a large impact
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