Structural Violence the Unseen Violence

The term violence brings to memory an image of physical or emotional assault on a person. In most circumstances, the person affected due to violence is aware that a violent action has been performed on that person. There is another form of violence where the affected individual, in most cases are unaware of the violence inflicted upon them. These types of violence are termed as structural violence. Structural violence is a form of invisible violence setup by a well-defined system, to limit an individual’s development to his full potential, by using legal, political, social or cultural traditions (Winter and Leighton, 1).

The term structural violence was originally phrased by Johan Galtung, to highlight all the disadvantages faced by humans due to economic and political structures (Winter and Leighton, 1). Human beings lives within the boundaries of accepted norms, setup by society. Sometimes the society lays out the structure for living, in such a way that it hinders the person from growing to their full ability. This form of hindrances which stops the person from fully utilizing his potential due to intentional layout of a system or structure, by the society, can correctly be termed as structural violence. The authors of the article Structural Violence and Clinical Medicine explicitly brings out the meaning of the term structural violence. They specify that in a social setting “the arrangements are structural because they are embedded in the political and economic organization of our social world; they are violent because they cause injury to people” (Farmer et al. 1). The system in order to restrain an individual will use legal framework, political ideology or social and cultural traditions.

According to 2006 PLoS medical journal on the study of ethno graphics in context of migrants in USA, structural racism and anti-immigration policies have led to poorer health and living conditions. The research clearly shows how ethnicity and citizenship status is directly tied to an individual’s health status and health care experiences (Holmes, 1787-88). We know that immigration to USA is regulated by law. The political hierarchy has framed the legal law in such a way that immigrants do not enjoy the same privileges as citizens. The apparent differences between people who are citizens and non-citizens is so inherent, that the disadvantaged non-citizens accept it with little outlet for protest. Since it is the law of the land, non-citizens willingly accepts the structural violence inflicted upon them due to immigration related issues.

In recent months we have seen political unrest in Tunisia, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries. In each of these countries the political leadership had amassed immense power and was using these powers to restrain and limit their countrymen from development. The ruling class clearly had formed a political structure with a clear agenda to inhibit the growth of their fellow citizens. In the past few decades, people from these countries have endured structural violence due to political hegemony. Exposure to western media has made the people realize the advantage of distributed power. Hence these countries are witnessing a surge of protest, with people fighting against the system. Parsons emphasizes on the distribution of political power and its effects throughout his article.
If a society then equalizes the distribution of power, all will possess equal amounts of it and hereby equally be objects of either structural violence or structural peace. As a result, structural violence could be collectively reduced because all have the power to end such avoidable needs deprivations. Presumably such a collective choice to end suffering would be in their immediate interest. (Parsons, 177).
So a proper distribution of political power can reduce structural violence and orient it towards structural peace.


Social and cultural traditions have been used to restrain women for generations. In most South Asian cultures, women have been raised to believe that they are inferior to men. These women have been brought up with the mind frame to accept these repressive customs and beliefs. They do not realize that the system has been setup to obstruct their growth. These women have to bear this seemingly invisible form of structural violence, since they are trained by the society to embrace the systemic violence.

We can clearly see that structural violence is omnipresent in different forms among human kind. It harms the individual in the long run by curbing their growth. Structural violence is not visible, yet inflicts a systematic form of violence. The endemic system is built to induce a hidden violence by setting up legal barriers, disproportionate distribution of political powers and by enforcing restrictive social and cultural rules. Identifying and acknowledging the fact that certain systems are built to hinder a person’s development will go a long way in curbing the impact of structural violence.


 
Works sited

Winter, DuNann Deborah and Dana C. Leighton “Structural violence.” Peace, conflict, and violence: Peace psychology in the 21st century. Ed. D. J. Christie, R. V. Wagner, D. D. Winter , New York: Prentice-Hall, 2001. Print.

Farmer , Paul, Bruce Nizeye, Sara Stulac, Salmaan Keshavjee. “Structural Violence and Clinical Medicine.” PLoS Medicine, 1686-91. October 2006. Print

Holmes, Seth. “An Ethnographic Study of the Social Context of Migrant Health in the United States.” PLoS Medicine, 1776-93. October 2006. Print.

Parsons, Kenneth. “Structural Violence and Power.” Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice, 173–181, print.