What Does Safety Mean
We explain what security is, its importance and what types exist. Also, what does risk, threat and vulnerability mean.
What is Safety?
The term security comes from the Latin securitas , which translates "to be without care", that is, to feel safe, and we commonly use it in a very similar sense: that of the absence of risks or dangers . It is a concept closely linked to trust and prevention , the strict meaning of which may vary depending on the field of human knowledge from which it is approached.
In a general sense, security is the object of study of security sciences , an interdisciplinary field of study focused on the evaluation, management or prevention of human, environmental or other risks.
According to this approach, security consists of containing risks within levels considered normal or acceptable , since risk can never be completely eliminated in any context .
In some national laws , security is defined in legal terms, in order to have public elements to guarantee it. In the case of the Argentine constitution, for example, it is defined as a condition based on the right that protects freedom , life and heritage , as well as democratic institutions.
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Importance of safety
Safety is considered a fundamental human condition , understood as not being under imminent risk of persecution, illness or death. It is among the “deficit needs” at the base of Maslow's Pyramid , and according to Malinowski's theories, it is one of the seven basic needs of the human being .
This is because, to make the most of human capacities, it is necessary to take a minimum security for granted , which has to do with physical protection, that is, the continuity of their existence. No one in danger of death can do anything but safety.
Security types
There are very different types of security, depending on the aspect of life to which they refer. For example:
- National security. When it comes to defending the strategic interests of a nation , inside and outside its territory , as well as safeguarding its sovereignty and political stability.
- Legal security. When we speak of the principle of law , based on the "certainty of the law", and which consists in the public possibility of knowing or knowing what is considered prohibited or permitted by the public powers . In other words, it is about the certainty that the State offers citizens that the law , as it is known to all, will be complied with correctly in their case.
- Citizen security. When it refers to the action of the State and the citizens themselves to guarantee the prevalence of social peace, the eradication of violence and fundamental guarantees . Generally refers to a set of democratic actions designed to protect citizens.
- Social Security. Also called "social welfare" when it comes to covering the needs of health , old age and disability in the population , which are held to be of social interest, that is common to all and therefore warrant collective protection.
- Job security. Also known as " occupational health ", when it concerns the conditions and risks of a professional occupation or a job trade, and which are normally derived from the work agreement between the employer and the employee.
- Road safety. When they have to do with the mechanisms and procedures designed to guarantee good traffic flow, thus avoiding accidents and situations in which vehicles become a danger to their occupants and to others.
- Informatic security. Also called "cybersecurity", when it has to do with the protection of data and the computing infrastructure of a specific computer system, defending it from malicious software and hacker attacks.
- Biosafety. When it comes to the set of protocols , measures and mechanisms aimed at protecting the public from contagion and transmission of diseases, or from contact with toxic or allergic substances that put health at risk.
Risk, threat and vulnerability
Close to the concept of security and the interests of security sciences, these three concepts deserve a separate definition:
- Risk . Risk can be defined as the probability that, in a given situation and involving certain elements, damage will occur. In other words, by “risk” we mean the feasibility of a danger becoming a damage. Thus, there are high and low risks, and risks related to work, economics, health, etc.
- Threat. A threat is, for its part, an actor or a set of conditions in which a risk becomes manifest. That is, the elements that cause the appearance of risks, due to their own nature, or to a role that they fulfill within a given context. A car can be a threat, for example, if the driver is drunk.
- Vulnerability . Finally, we speak of vulnerability to refer to a condition or situation of greater or lesser propensity or defenselessness in the face of risks and threats. The more vulnerable you are to a risk, the greater the chances of suffering damage, and / or the greater the damage that can be suffered. It is precisely the opposite of security.
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