Missing persons and social exclusion

The concept of social exclusion is used to explore the relationship between people and groups who may be socially and economically disadvantaged and the phenomenon of going missing. Police data about missing persons are compared to census data to determine whether groups who experience family dissolution, labour market exclusion, and other forms of disadvantage and social exclusion are overrepresented among people reported missing compared to the general population. The analysis shows that disadvantaged youth, women, Aboriginal people, people who are not in the labour force, unemployed people, and homeless people are all overrepresented among people reported missing.People occupying the intersections of multiple high risk categories are at particularly high risk of being reported missing. Linking missing persons with the concept of social exclusion shows that social and economic disadvantage can lead directly and indirectly to peoples’ disappearances.