STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE: CHARACTERISTICS, TYPES AND EXAMPLES - PSYCHOLOGY - 2025

The structural violence is a concept developed by Johan Galtung in 60, which refers to the way in which some institutions or social structures damaged by preventing certain individuals develop and get all your needs. Structural violence would prevent equality among citizens from being achieved.

Certain social structures (be they economic, political, cultural, medical or legal) can have a very negative impact on specific groups or communities. Thus, problems such as classism, sexism, nationalism or racism would be the result of this structural violence.

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It is important to note that the term does not refer to some type of physical harm caused to a minority. Rather, Galtung was referring to the underlying cause of the difference between people's potential and the actual results they achieve in different areas of their lives.

According to some authors, structural violence should not simply be called injustice, as it causes very real harm to the people who suffer it. This concept is at the base of many of the modern movements that seek equality between different groups.

characteristics

Creates inequality between citizens

The social norms of our cultures, as well as certain economic and legal institutions, affect different groups of people differently.

As a result, certain minorities or less favored groups become victims of discrimination, in the sense that they cannot access the same resources or positions as others.

One of the clearest examples occurs if we look at differences in purchasing power. People from higher social classes have access to all kinds of resources and benefits; while those with a less strong economy generally have to settle for lower quality services.

It prevents or hinders the achievement of basic human rights

Scholars of structural violence say that this problem is at the base of the difficulties that some groups have to satisfy some of their basic needs: survival, well-being, identity or freedom.

Due to social stratification (whereby some people are seen as more valid or with more rights than others), those who are in the lowest echelons of society cannot achieve their goals or develop their potential.

Normally, structural violence is associated with a conflict between two or more groups, one of them being the owner of the majority of resources and therefore making it difficult for the other to access all kinds of goods and services.

It is at the base of other types of violence

The theory of the triangle of violence, also developed by Galtung, tries to explain the appearance of conflicts of all kinds within advanced societies.

According to this sociologist, visible violence would only be a small part of a system that legitimizes it and ends up causing it indirectly.

Thus, direct violence (which implies violent behaviors and acts) would be caused by two other types, which are cultural and structural violence.

The structural one would be the worst of the three, and also the most difficult to detect, since the structures that prevent the pursuit of one's own well-being would not be visible.

On the other hand, cultural violence would have to do with the appearance of elements such as art, philosophy or religion that legitimize the other two types of violence and allow us to rationalize the acts against a specific group as something normal.

Types

Since Galtung's works, the theory of structural violence has developed greatly. Today, there is talk of a large number of types, depending on the groups that are affected by it. Here we will see some of the most common.

Classism

One of the first types of structural violence described has to do with the differences that occur depending on the socioeconomic status of a person.

Thus, individuals from the upper classes would have access to a disproportionate amount of resources, while those from the lower classes would have great difficulty living well.

Classism or class struggle is at the base of cultural movements such as Marxism and communism, which want to end this supposed inequality.

Racism

Another of the types of structural violence most mentioned by the authors is that by which members of some races (mainly Caucasian) are favored while others are discriminated against.

For example, it has been repeatedly observed that in the United States, African American citizens earn less money on average per year, do worse academically, and are more likely to be involved in violent crime. According to some authors, structural violence is at the base of these problems.

Sexism

Today, probably the most frequently mentioned type of structural violence is sexism; that is, the discrimination of people based on their gender.

Many thinkers believe that women suffer from all kinds of problems due to the presence of social and cultural structures that prevent them from reaching their full potential.

Thus, for example, an attempt is made to explain phenomena such as the lower presence of women in positions of responsibility or their lower average salaries from the perspective of structural violence.

Homophobia

Another of the groups allegedly most discriminated against by social structures is the LGBT community. People with a sexual orientation other than heterosexuality would suffer all kinds of negative effects from this aspect of their lives, especially in less developed cultures.

Examples

We can find examples of structural violence in all those cases in which a person cannot access some type of position, good or service due to an aspect of their identity such as their race, their sex, their religion or their sexual orientation.

For example, the fact that women in some countries cannot drive by law would be a clear case of structural violence.

Controversy

Despite the fact that the theory of structural violence is quite widespread today, many scientists and thinkers believe that it is not a satisfactory explanation for the problems suffered by certain groups.

The fact that not enough scientific evidence has been compiled in this regard means that today we can categorically affirm the existence of structural violence or, in any case, of the effects it supposedly causes.

References

1. "What is structural violence?" in: Thought Co. Retrieved on: December 22, 2018 from Thought Co: thoughtco.com.
2. "Structural violence" in: Structural Violence. Retrieved on: December 22, 2018 from Structural Violence: structuralviolence.org.
3. "What is structural violence?" in: Global Public Health. Retrieved on: December 22, 2018 from Global Public Health: saludpublicaglobal.org.
4. "Triangle of violence" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: December 22, 2018 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org.
5. "Structural violence" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: December 22, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.