Knowra Structural violence Structural violence Structural violence is harm produced by social arrangements that systematically limit some groups’ access to safety, health, resources, and opportunity. It can cause illness and premature death without requiring a direct perpetrator.
Social determinants of health : The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, shaped by the distribution of power and resources. Unequal housing, income, and care access connect social arrangements to patterned differences in health.
Johan Galtung : A Norwegian sociologist and peace researcher who introduced the concept of structural violence in 1969. Galtung named the form of violence embedded in social structures rather than direct acts.
Haiti : A Caribbean country whose history includes slavery, colonial rule, foreign intervention, and persistent economic inequality. Farmer’s studies of illness in Haiti show how political and economic histories shape health.
Direct violence : Physical or psychological harm inflicted through identifiable acts by individuals or groups. Galtung contrasts visible acts of force with harm embedded in social arrangements.
Premature mortality : Death occurring earlier than expected for a population, often measured against a defined age threshold or life expectancy. Unequal early death is among the clearest consequences of systematic exposure to harm.
Health inequity : A systematic, avoidable, and unjust difference in health or access to health care between social groups. It describes the unequal health outcomes that structural violence produces.
Violence: A Research Problem : A 1969 article by Johan Galtung that distinguishes direct violence from violence built into social structures. This article introduced the framework that later informed structural violence scholarship.
Tuberculosis : An infectious disease caused by bacteria of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, usually affecting the lungs. Its unequal burden reflects living conditions, access to diagnosis, and treatment barriers.
Cultural violence : Cultural aspects that legitimize or normalize direct or structural violence, making them appear acceptable or inevitable. Galtung’s related concept explains how beliefs can justify unequal social arrangements.
Health disparity : A measurable difference in health outcomes or health care between population groups. Disparities provide observable evidence of patterned disadvantage, though not every difference is unjust.
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