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Aporophobia (from the Spanish aporofobia, and this from the Ancient Greek ἄπορος (áporos), 'without resources, indigent, poor,' and φόβος (phobos), 'hatred' or 'aversion')[1][2] are negative attitudes and feelings towards poverty and poor people. It is the disgust and hostility toward poor people, those without resources or who are helpless.[3]
The word povertyism is also used, in the field of international law, to denote this form of discrimination against people living in poverty. [4]
The concept of aporophobia was coined in the 1990s[5][6] by the philosopher Adela Cortina, professor of Ethics and Political Philosophy at the University of Valencia,[7] to differentiate this attitude from xenophobia, which only refers to the rejection of foreigners, and racism, which is discrimination by ethnic groups. The difference between aporophobia and xenophobia or racism is that socially there is no discrimination or marginalization of immigrants or members of other ethnic groups when these people have assets, economic resources and/or social and media relevance.[5][8][9]
The aporophobia consists, therefore, in a feeling of fear and in an attitude of rejection of the poor, the lack of means, the helpless. Such feeling and such attitude are acquired.[5]
Pursuant to a decision of the French Parliament of 24 June 2016, it was added to the list of forms of discrimination prohibited by the constitution as "discrimination for social precarity".[citation needed] However, fewer than 20 persons have instituted lawsuits on the grounds of such discrimination.
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