Poverty is not solely a lack of income, but rather is characterized by a vicious cycle of powerlessness, stigmatization,discrimination, exclusion and material deprivation,which all mutually reinforce each other' (ibid, para. The vicious cycle means that ‘the greater the inequality, the less the participation, the less the participation, the greater the inequality’ (ibid, para. Lack of participation is both a cause and consequence of poverty. Poverty is itself a ground of discrimination, but people living in poverty often experience other forms of discrimination based on,for example, gender, disability, ethnicity, and so on.