Structural violence

Dependence on structural violence
Institutional violence
Institutionalized covert himsa
Structural injustice

Nature

Societies are structured in ways that deny adequate standards of living and access to vital social services to the less privileged. Where institutions such as business, government, schools and prisons violate the personhood of society's members this is a form of violence (or, using Jain terms, covert himsa). Poor housing, racial discrimination, unemployment, disenfranchisement and repressive education are thus structural forms of violence. An example is medical care, for which key indices such as disease and early death rates per thousand are markedly disparate between the poorest and the richest.

Background

The concept of structural violence emerged in the 1960s, notably through the work of Johan Galtung, as scholars and activists sought to explain persistent social inequalities not attributable to direct aggression. Its global relevance became increasingly apparent amid decolonization, civil rights movements, and analyses of systemic poverty and health disparities. Over subsequent decades, structural violence has been recognized as a pervasive, often invisible force shaping outcomes across diverse societies, prompting interdisciplinary research and policy debates worldwide.

Incidence

Structural violence manifests globally through entrenched social, economic, and political systems that systematically disadvantage certain populations. Its incidence is evident in disparities in healthcare access, education, and legal protections, contributing to preventable suffering and premature mortality. The World Health Organization has identified structural violence as a significant barrier to achieving health equity, with millions affected by institutionalized discrimination and poverty across continents.
In 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted structural violence in the United States, where marginalized communities—particularly Black and Latino populations—experienced disproportionately high infection and mortality rates due to longstanding inequities in healthcare, employment, and housing.

Claim

Personal violence for the amateur is dominance, structural violence is the tool of the professional. The amateur who wants to dominate uses guns, the professional uses social structure. The legal criminality of the social system and its institutions, of government, and of individuals at the interpersonal level is tacit violence. Structural violence is a structure of exploitation and social injustice. It seems to survive very well the changes from a slave society, via a feudal and capitalist order, to lodge in a socialist society.

Structural violence between countries is seen, for example, in the EEC/EU, where there are colonial-type trade relations, elitist networks, highly varied bilateral interaction rates observed between hierarchically conscious states, and a process of recognizing some states as having a 'second class berth'in the EEC/EU 'vehicle'. There are no statistics to illustrate the incidence of violence by consent - those products resulting from the social structure called apathy, ignorance, misinformation and resentment which allow for few opportunities to improve wages, working conditions, nutrition, living conditions and housing, and literacy and education. This is the violence all nations show to their underprivileged classes.

Counter-claim

Structural violence is an overblown concept that distracts from real, tangible issues. Societies naturally have hierarchies and inequalities; labeling these as “violence” dilutes the meaning of actual violence. Focusing on structural violence encourages endless blame games instead of practical solutions. Resources and attention should be directed toward immediate, concrete problems rather than abstract theories that do little to improve people’s lives. Structural violence is simply not a significant problem.