In this article, we have discussed social injustice examples and how to tackle social injustice in today’s society.
Throughout history, we have seen minorities being oppressed and marginalized in a society where everyone should be treated equally. This has happened over time and is currently happening in some parts of the world.
Social injustice demoralizes a group within a society. It hurts human emotions and creates a gap between people.
Some examples of social injustice include police brutality, systematic discrimination, ageism, and forced child labour. These are some of the things many nations around the world are still battling with.
How can we solve these problems and how is this affecting us as a people? Stay with us as we discuss this topic and more in this post.
What Is Social Injustice?
Social injustice occurs within a society when a group of people are treated unjustly. This affects a specific group of people, limiting their access to opportunities as citizens within a society.
Every human on earth deserves to be treated equally regardless of their race. Religion, or nationality.
We have seen minority groups suffer because of laws and policies made by the government. In several countries around the world, there are people that enjoy the privilege of belonging to the majority.
Social injustice exists in our world today and we will show examples.
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A List of Some of the Social Injustice Examples
- Systemic Discrimination
- Ageism
- Unequal Service Delivery
- The Glass Ceiling
- Slavery and Human Trafficking
- Gender Pay Gap
- Segregation
- Stereotyping
- Homophobia
- Forced Child Labour
- Racism and Xenophobia
- Climate Change
- Child and Forced Marriage
- Religious Discrimination
- Rural Health Access
- Poverty
- Girl’s Education
- The Digital Divide
- Disability Discrimination
- Free Speech Prisoners
- Colonization
#1. Systemic Discrimination
Systemic discrimination is an issue and the minority are the ones who suffer from it. It involves the unfair treatment of a particular group of people due to laws and policies implemented by the entire system.
Generally, systemic discrimination can take several forms. Bias in the judiciary, segregated housing and education are all examples of systemic discrimination.
According to statistics, seven out of every ten African-American men have been racially profiled by police. Black people in America are more likely to be stopped by police than white Americans.
#2. Ageism
Ageism occurs when people are discriminated against because of their age. Over 50% of workers in America have experienced age discrimination in their workplace.
It’s not just in America, countries around the world also prefer workers within a certain age. Millions of people worldwide have experienced this at their workplace.
The world we live in today requires employees to have certain years of work experience in a particular field and at the same, employees must not be too old.
This affects both the young and people in the workforce. If you are too young, people will discriminate against you for being naive and inexperienced. If you are old, you will be seen as a less productive employee who is unable to keep up.
#3. Unequal Service Delivery
One of the paramount social injustice examples in our society is unequal service delivery is one of the best. In different places around the world today, there are groups that have been marginalized. Over 70 indigenous communities in Canada suffer from this. Currently, there are remote indigenous communities in the country that lack access to clean drinking water.
Several groups around the world have been marginalized in a place where they have equal rights just like everyone else.
Another example of unequal service delivery is the Flint water crisis in 2014. The crisis started in April of that year when the Flint River became the city’s water source.
Residents of the city discovered that the river was contaminated with lead. Hey reported to the authority about this environmental hazard, but state officials denied any claim of contamination.
In December of the following year, the state finally agreed that there was a contamination and made an effort to correct it.
#4. The Glass Ceiling
This points out the discrimination against women to attain certain positions within society. While other nations around the world have had a female prime minister or president, the United States has never elected a female president in its history.
In general, women have been marginalized from taking top positions in politics, institutions, and organizations. Despite their achievement, women still experience some sort of discrimination.
About 19% of women occupy executive positions and this is because of the social injustice in the hiring practices.
#5. Slavery and Human Trafficking
Although slavery was abolished over a century ago, modern-day slavery and human trafficking is still an issue. Now you may think this only happens in third-world countries.
Human trafficking occurs in the United States. Most times it is foreigners trafficking their fellow countrymen and women into the United States, but we also have Americans trafficking Americans.
According to reports, there are over 10,000 cases of human trafficking each year in the United States.
Victims of human trafficking are usually people fleeing war in their country or those oppressed by a group of militia.
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#6. Gender Pay Gap
The gender pay gap is one of the social injustice examples. It’s a debate currently going on in the United States, as women in the country demand equal pay. Women face certain discrimination due to their nature of conception.
Women perform excellently in white-collar jobs when they are in their early 20s. Because they have to deal with pregnancy and raising kids, women are at a disadvantage.
While men start earning more when they are in their mid-30s, some women may be unemployed as a result of pregnancy. This has a negative on women and their finances.
Men will go on to work for a longer period than women, saving more money by the time they retire.
#7. Segregation
Segregation occurs in the United States and those who have suffered from it are the African-Americans. After slavery was abolished in the 19th century, African-Americans were segregated and had to deal with Jim Crow Laws.
During the 50s and 60, African-Americans in the United States were not allowed to be in the same institutions as white Americans. They were not even allowed to use the same bathroom.
When on a bus, a black person was required to give up his or her seat for white Americans. Blacks attended different schools and lived in specific neighbourhoods during this period.
#8. Stereotyping
A lot of people have suffered from this because they belong to a particular group. Some people are quick to judge others based on appearance and nothing more.
Believing that all immigrants are criminals is an example of a stereotype. After the 9/11 attack in the United States, Muslims in the country were seen as threats. Some were even attacked just for looking Asian.
Another example of a stereotype is the attack on Chinese people during the Covid 19 Pandemic. Most people believed that all Chinese people were infected with the virus and responsible for the death of thousands of people.
#9. Forced Child Labour
This is one of the humanitarian crises in the world today, with over 150 million victims worldwide.
Each year, millions of children who are supposed to be in school are forced to work under difficult conditions. They are denied the opportunity to a good education and work tirelessly with little or no pay.
This usually happens in developing countries where the level of poverty is very high. Sometimes these children are kidnapped and forced to work for hours in horrible working conditions.
#10. Racism and Xenophobia
Racism occurs when a specific race sees itself as superior to another race. This has infected the mind of people for generations, with groups like the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nation and it is one of the most paramount of all social injustice examples.
Xenophobia refers to the hatred of foreigners by the locals. Xenophobia can lead to discrimination and violence against foreigners.
In recent times, there have several xenophobic attacks in South Africa. Foreigners in the country were killed and properties were destroyed by locals as well.
#11. Climate Change
Climate change is an urgent issue that requires attention, as the survival of our planet depends on it. In recent times we have seen strange weather events causing extreme winter storms, hurricanes, and floods.
The amount of greenhouse gasses deposited into the atmosphere is alarming and scientists believe that is the cause of climate change. To save the planet and the future of the unborn generation, we need to reduce carbon emissions and accept clean energy.
#12. Child and Forced Marriage
Child marriage violates the girl child’s rights and exposes young girls across the world to sexual violence. The girl child deserves to be educated and given the opportunity to pursue dream careers.
In some parts of the world, young girls as old as 13 are forced into marriage. Getting married at a such young age affects the mental state of these girls. In general, these young girls are likely to be abused.
Child marriage is unhealthy for the girl child and it violates their human rights.
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#13. Religious Discrimination
Religious discrimination defines the unfair treatment of a particular group because of their religious beliefs.
Both Christians and Muslims face government-sanctioned discrimination in different countries worldwide. An employer can decide not to employ an individual because of their religious beliefs.
In recent times, Muslims from certain countries have been banned from entering the United States. One would say that it was religious discrimination against Muslims.
#14. Rural Health Access
People living in rural areas usually lack good healthcare, electricity, access to clean water, etc.
Those living in these areas do not have access to adequate healthcare services. To get access to healthcare, they travel a long distance, sometimes through difficult terrains.
Because of the geographical location of these rural areas, it’s sometimes difficult to get healthcare professionals to these places.
#15. Poverty
A large percentage of the world’s population lives in poverty.
People living in poverty lack access to clean water, food and housing. Those living in this condition are prone to diseases. They live their everyday life surviving without access to clean water, good healthcare, education, and food.
According to statistics, over 485,000 children die yearly due to hunger. In the United States, over two million Native American children lack access to clean water.
#16. Girl’s Education
Every child deserves to be educated regardless of their gender, when this is compromised, it becomes a social injustice.
Several countries around the world have different opinions when it comes to girls’ education. In many cultures around the world, the girl child is believed to be a weaker vessel, so the boys are sent to school by the family.
They believe that sending the boy child to school is more profitable than sending the girl child. However, that is untrue, as girls have proven to be more intelligent than boys in some areas.
In some cultures, young girls can only be educated to a certain level. After that, they have to get married and start raising a family.
#17. The Digital Divide
The digital divide defines the difference between individuals who are familiar with 21st-century technology and have access to the internet and those who do not.
People who do not have access to 21st-century technology are at a disadvantage compared to those familiar with the internet. The latter has an advantage over the others in terms of education and employment.
#18. Disability Discrimination
Disability discrimination cannot be over-emphasised and we will not be correct if it is not included as one of the social injustice examples, because it is a social injustice to discriminate against disabled people and treat them unfairly because of their physical disabilities.
Everyone deserves to be treated equally regardless of their physical appearance. A lot of disabled people around the world have been discriminated against because of their inability to perform certain tasks.
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#19. Free Speech Prisoners
In some countries around the world, people can’t speak freely against leaders in power. Even journalists who were just doing their job have been imprisoned or killed for knowing or saying too much.
The Saudi government were accused years back of the murder of Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi. Al Jazeera journalist, Mahmoud Hussein was imprisoned in his home country of Egypt for years before he was released.
#20. Colonization
Colonization might have ended decades ago but its effects are still in existence to this day. European countries still have an influence on their former colonies.
In general, colonization had an impact on indigenous cultures. Some indigenous cultures were erased and artefacts were stolen as trophies.
How to Eradicate Social Injustice
There are solutions to solve the issue of social injustice and they include;
Educate Yourself
It’s unwise to get involved in any movement without knowing what the agenda is. You need to be educated to understand what you are fighting for and want to achieve.
Do your research, read books that analyse the agenda of a social movement, gather your information, and stay on course.
Support Diversity in the Workplace
Avoid discriminating against anyone because of their social background, sexuality, gender, race or religion. Embracing diversity improves productivity and when you work together as a team, you can achieve more.
Conclusion
These are just a few examples of social injustice in the world. These were the problems in the past and they are still in existence in the world today.
Child marriage, child forced labour, modern-day slavery, and human trafficking are humanitarian crisis that requires urgent attention.
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References
- helpfulprofessor.com: Social Injustice Examples
- thepersecuted.org: SOCIAL INJUSTICE: WHAT IS IT, EXAMPLES, AND SOLUTIONS
- scalar.case.edu: What Is Social Injustice?
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