Primed for harm : inaccessible housing as a vulnerabilising assemblage

In this paper we propose the concept of 'vulnerabilising' to mark an explicit shift in the focus of analysis and intervention away from those individuals and groups labelled vulnerable, towards the processes that generate and reproduce vulnerability. To that end, we develop a framework that conceptualises how 'vulnerabilising assemblages' operate. We mobilise assemblage thinking and engage with theoretical debates on the nature of vulnerability as a universal, albeit unequal, human condition. Addressing inaccessible housing as a case study, we identify three mechanisms through which it vulnerabilises people with physical disabilities: through exposure to harm; through erosion of defenses against harm; and by legitimising or motivating harm. We propose that such mechanisms can be investigated in different contexts, and call on researchers, policymakers and grassroot activists to shift their attention from vulnerable bodies to vulnerabilising assemblages.