adjective

oppressed or treated badly by people in power.

a downtrodden proletarian struggling for social justice

oppressed,subjugated,persecuted,subdued,repressed,tyrannized,ground down,crushed,enslaved,burdened,weighed down,exploited,disadvantaged,underprivileged,victimized,bullied,browbeaten,under the heel,powerless,helpless,prostrate,abused,misused,maltreated,ill-treated