Proof governs the boundaries of existence. It decides who crosses a border and who is detained, who receives support and who is scrutinized, who is believed and who is ignored. Marketed as a neutral arbiter of fairness, proof is anything but. It is a weapon—a tool of exclusion, a mechanism of control, and a system that profits from human vulnerability.
At borders, proof determines who is left to drown and who is deemed worthy of safety. In welfare systems, it humiliates the poor, forcing them to plead for dignity. In policing, it demands impossible evidence from victims while shielding perpetrators of systemic violence. For neurodivergent folks, proof becomes an unrelenting demand—to justify their needs, validate their diagnoses, or secure accommodations. Proof doesn’t simply confirm facts—it constructs power, protects privilege, and perpetuates inequality.
Proof is not inherently oppressive. When used ethically, it can safeguard fairness, uphold accountability, and drive systemic progress. Yet today, proof systems are designed to punish and exclude rather than support or affirm. This essay critiques how proof enforces hierarchies, commodifies pain, and sustains industries of harm. It also examines ways to reclaim proof as a tool of accountability for systems, rather than individuals.
Proof as Oppression: Enforcing Hierarchies
Proof reinforces existing hierarchies, dictating whose lives are validated and whose are expendable. Across borders, welfare offices, and policing systems, proof is weaponized to marginalize, particularly targeting those who lack power or resources to meet its arbitrary demands.
Borders: Bureaucracies of Exclusion
Borders are not neutral. They are bureaucratic enforcers of inequality, reducing human beings to categories: deserving or disposable.
Colonial Roots, Modern Applications
The demand for proof at borders originated in colonial practices. In British India, caste censuses locked fluid identities into rigid hierarchies to maintain imperial control. Apartheid South Africa’s passbooks criminalized Black mobility, making freedom contingent on bureaucratic compliance.Modern borders operate with similar logics, criminalizing survival for those without documents. In India, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) rendered nearly two million people stateless, disproportionately targeting Muslims who could not produce decades-old documents. Families were separated, detained, or disappeared into detention camps.
Sanctioned Disappearances
In the Mediterranean, thousands of migrants are left to drown because their undocumented status invalidates their right to rescue. These deaths are not unfortunate accidents—they are bureaucratically sanctioned disappearances, the result of deliberate policies that prioritize borders over human lives.Neurodivergent Barriers
Neurodivergent migrants face additional obstacles. Systems often misinterpret atypical communication styles or behaviors as dishonesty, dismissing asylum claims as incoherent or inconsistent. An autistic asylum seeker struggling to recount trauma in a linear narrative risks wrongful rejection.
Why do we demand proof from those fleeing war and persecution while absolving the systems that force them to flee?
Welfare: The Humiliation Machine
Welfare systems claim to serve the vulnerable but are designed to surveil, shame, and criminalize poverty. Proof turns survival into a moral test, demanding documentation that is often impossible to provide.
Historical Spectacles of Poverty
In 19th-century Britain, the Poor Laws institutionalized the idea that poverty was a moral failing. Inspectors intruded into homes, judging who was “deserving” of aid.Modern Cruelties
Today’s welfare systems operate under similar logics. Australia’s Robodebt scheme falsely accused thousands of welfare recipients of fraud, driving many into financial despair or suicide. In the U.S., welfare fraud investigations disproportionately target Black families, perpetuating racialized myths while corporations receive billions in subsidies without scrutiny.Neurodivergence and Welfare Proof
Neurodivergent people face relentless scrutiny in welfare systems. Diagnostic criteria often force them to “perform” disability to access support, penalizing those who cannot conform to rigid expectations. The welfare system’s demand for proof assumes dishonesty and imposes an emotional toll on those already struggling.
Why do welfare systems punish individuals for their need while excusing the greed of corporations?
Policing: Proof as a Shield for Impunity
Proof in policing is framed as a tool for justice, but it often erases the voices of survivors while shielding institutional violence.
The Erasure of Lives
In Canada, the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women demonstrates how proof systems erase lives. Police often dismiss cases citing a “lack of evidence,” allowing systemic violence to continue unchecked.Surveillance as Proof
Technologies like predictive policing and body cameras, marketed as tools of accountability, are instead weaponized against marginalized communities. During the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, surveillance technologies targeted activists rather than holding law enforcement accountable for brutality.
Why must survivors prove their pain while law enforcement rarely proves its necessity?
The Costs of Proof: Extracting Profit from Pain
Proof systems do not only exclude—they extract. They impose emotional burdens, generate profit from exclusion, and sustain industries built on human suffering.
The Emotional Cost: The Price of Being Believed
Proof retraumatizes individuals by forcing them to expose their most intimate vulnerabilities to skeptical systems.
Queer Asylum Seekers
LGBTQ+ refugees must submit photos and personal letters that reveal intimate detail to prove their identities. Those who do not conform to Western stereotypes of queerness are rejected outright.Survivors of Violence
Women fleeing domestic violence are interrogated about why they stayed, why they didn’t “fight back,” and why they didn’t leave sooner. These systems do not validate humanity—they commodify pain, turning lived experiences into evidence for bureaucratic approval.
Industries Thriving on Proof
Entire industries profit from proof systems.
Detention-for-Profit
Companies like GEO Group operate detention centers where undocumented migrants suffer under inhumane conditions.Surveillance Capitalism
Predictive policing tools, sold by companies like Palantir, target marginalized communities and fuel the prison-industrial complex. These systems thrive by monetizing exclusion and criminalizing survival.
Why do these industries profit without ever proving their societal value?
Reimagining Proof: Building Accountability
Proof can be reimagined as a tool of solidarity and systemic accountability, rather than individual punishment.
Universal Systems: Removing Barriers
Universal programs eliminate invasive proof requirements by treating care as a right. Finland’s Housing First model, for example, has nearly eradicated homelessness by providing housing without preconditions. These systems assume trust rather than suspicion.Centering Lived Experience
Proof must prioritize human stories over bureaucratic data points. South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission emphasized survivor testimonies, fostering accountability through relational truth rather than rigid documentation.Accountability for Systems, Not Individuals
Instead of demanding proof from individuals, systems should be required to prove their value to society. Participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil, empowers communities to allocate public funds directly, shifting accountability onto systems and fostering transparency.
Proof as Liberation
Proof today enforces hierarchies, perpetuates harm, and shields systems of profit from scrutiny. Yet, it remains essential for fairness, justice, and accountability. The challenge is not to abandon proof, but to transform it—preserving its strengths while dismantling its role as a tool of exclusion.
Imagine proof systems that affirm humanity rather than question it. Borders that prioritize safety over documentation. Welfare programs that trust rather than shame. Policing that centers justice, not surveillance.
These are not utopian dreams—they are achievable if we demand systems that value equity over control. Proof must become a tool of care and solidarity, holding systems accountable for serving the people they claim to protect.
