the oppressed; downtrodden people
Refers to people who are oppressed, persecuted, or treated cruelly, often in a social or political context.
We should listen to the voices of the oppressed.
The novel depicts the suffering of downtrodden people.
Standard kanji spelling using the repetition kanji 々.
Variant spelling with repeated kanji 人 instead of 々; less common but still encountered.
Compound of 虐げられた (past passive form of 虐げる 'to oppress') + 人々 ('people').