Aporophobia or, what is the same, aversion, fear and contempt towards the poor. This neologism – in the RAE since 2017 – defines a reality not named until recently: rejection. The person responsible for naming it in 1985 for the first time was the Valencian Adela Cortina, philosopher and professor, when she reflected on it in one of her books.
The university institution IQS has taken a step further and has convened the first international Congress on aporophobia with the aim of reflecting on this issue and finding solutions to combat it. The event will be held on October 30 and 31 at the IQS University Center, in Barcelona, ??and will feature the master presentation of the same Adela Cortina, as well as world experts, where they will talk at the different conferences, sessions and workshops. The assistance is free, although the places are limited and it is necessary to register through the form on the web.
Aporophobia is a widespread phenomenon in Western society and closer than it may seem. In fact, in Spain alone there are 12.3 million people in situations of poverty and social exclusion (more than 1.1 million in Catalonia), according to data from the annual report ‘The State of Poverty in the Autonomous Communities’, carried out by the Network to Fight Poverty and Social Exclusion (EAPN-ES), published last April.
The state of vulnerability of these people causes many of them to end up living on the streets, generating a deterioration in their physical and mental health. And, not only that, living on the street shortens life expectancy by up to 30 years, according to Cáritas. In Barcelona alone, up to 494 homeless people have died since 2016, according to the count that services and third sector entities carry out year after year in the city.
Therefore, in addition to IQS, this congress is organized by the main entities that fight to end social exclusion and poverty such as the Pere Tarrés-URL Foundation, Cáritas, Assís Foundation, Arrels Foundation, Christianity and Justice, Borja Institute of Bioética-URL, Fundació Vidal i Barraquer-URL, ESADE-URL, ESDI-URL, Observatori Blanquerna-URL and La Salle-URL.
