Structural Violence And Inequalities

The organizational structures of political and economic systems cause and sustain the sort of hierarchical relations that enable dramatic differences between and across sectors of societies. Within these hierarchies, the people at the top have privilege, wealth, and power, while those at the bottom of the hierarchy are dominated, oppressed, and exploited (Christie, 1997). People are harmed and killed as a result of structural violence but, unlike direct violence, it occurs more slowly. The harm or death of oppressed people may come about because “some people are deprived of food, shelter, healthcare, and other resources” (Christie, 1997). Because structural violence is embedded in a society’s way of being, over the long-term, groups of people may not be able to meet their basic needs to the degree that normal development and growth is impacted.

I do believe that structural violence perpetuates health disparities. I also think that there are services available that are often misunderstood and are underutilized. I feel that with some education, financial assistance through hospitals would be a potential avenue for diminishing the financial impact of seeking care, and

Health, illness and death are not randomly distributed across societies but rather determined based on ones class and socioeconomic status, their education and literacy, employment/working conditions, social and physical environments, food insecurity, social support networks, housing, poverty and inequality. These determinants have clear affects on the inequality of health and how it is

In the article “Health disparity and structural violence”, Researches suggest that minority population have high risk for diabetics than the social majority. Decreased level of education and increase level of poverty add the risk to develop diabetic in minority. “There are significant disparities associated with diabetes based on race and ethnicity”(Page-Reeves.etal,2013) Some types of common fears have been seen in this minority group which prevent them to approach health care.

          Given these facts, I do agree that structural violence perpetuates health disparity. Fear and health were interconnected, the people’s everyday lives were framed by fear. What is Structural violence? This consists of stark racism, “disease-ridden environments, stigmatizing social norms, and barriers preventing underserved populations from getting adequate health care”.  Using a structural violence framework, the issue of fear stood out as an important intersecting issue that impacts the regular

Chapter 4 informed me about Institutional Violence, what it means, and the types of institutional violence and how this form of violence affects society. Institutional violence has many aspects such as intimate partner violence, child abuse, educational, religious, corporate, media and environmental violence. I found the section on family violence interesting and I also learned a lot of new facts and disturbing details about dangerous consumer products that either cause major and widespread illness or even death. I was able to learn more in depth about the characteristics of corporate violence and who the founding father of corporate crime is, Edwin Sutherland, thanks to this man corporate violence was brought to the forefront and acknowledged in the corporate world.

Structural violence is a big factor in American History. I would even go as far as saying the country that I live in was built on, and is ran by structural violence. In terms of race, politics, our justice system, and even our schools are all structured one way or another by some type of systematic violence. I do not believe that violence neccesarily has to be physical harm. It can be psycological, emotional, and even systematic harm. By systematic harm, I mean specifically in our justice and economic systems. The phrase "The poor just get poorer while the rich get richer" is a great example of systematic violence in my opinion. As a nation we tend to turn our shoulder to the visual and physical evidence that the police are targeting African

Institutionalized inequalities, a societal prejudice against others through a community or organization, is a prevalent issue within the novel, “The Bluest Eye”, written by Toni Morrison. The use of racial discrimination, gender roles, and class structures construct these inequalities, and illustrates the immoral high road that institutions in the 20th century would follow along. Pecola Breedlove, the main character and the person who falls to victim most frequently, endures numerous setbacks and obstacles that contribute to the analysis on how “The Bluest Eye” creates such disparities. As Wall would put it, “in a society ordered by hierarchies of power based on race, class, and gender, no one is more powerless-hence more vulnerable- than a

Structural violence is an invisible force that can display at every level of society from individuals to a whole country through various forms such as access to health care, resources and political rights. Structural violence can be referred as a form of oppression through social and political injustices that are imposed on unprivileged populations or communities of the society. Some of the contributing factors into structural violence mentioned by Paul Farmer in “On Suffering and Structural Violence: A View from Below” are gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Paul Farmer describes the social injustice and the political oppression in Haiti through the life stories of two young Haitians, Acephie and Chouchou.

Inequality is not an unfamiliar concept, it has been prevalent for quite some time. Inequality is growing and more people are experiencing the “crisis of inequality”. Many scholars are saying that we are approaching two societies one “black” and one “white” (Walker, Spohn, & DeLone, 2016). There are many different types of inequality, although they all have a similar meanings. Structural inequality can be defined as when one group of people is given a disadvantage or unequal social status than other groups of people (Walker, Spohn, & DeLone, 2016). Structural inequality can be seen through many different relationships or social institutions. Race/ethnicity is one of the largest areas that is affected by social structural inequalities. Structural inequality and crime go hand-in-hand. This is because they both can have an effect on each other, one can potentially be a factor to the other. Race/ethnicity also plays a role in crime causation. All three of these ideas are intertwined and can effect one another. According to Walker, Spohn, & DeLone

Despite the many disadvantages of being raised by a low-income migrant family, one of my advantages is my cultural capital which bypassed the structural violence around me. My cultural capital consisted of having both a mother and father figure, which many children in South Central lacked. For instance, children raised by a single parent suffered greater amount of hardships than one raised by both parents. Accordingly, many of these single parents are forced to overwork in order to financially support their children, as a result, leaving their children with minimal guidance and nourishment. This is the result of structural violence in underserved communities. Structural violence is the way the patriarchal system harms an individual through

There are alarming health inequities within many countries. For example, in the United States of America, African Americans represent only 12% of the population but account for almost half of all new HIV infections. There is no biological or genetic reason for these alarming differences in health. I did not know about the depth of these inequities and disparities (World Health Organization, 2011). I have also learned that equity in health or social determinants of health approach gives an in-depth and critical analysis to look into the complex web of socio-economic and political factors behind poor health conditions and outcomes among populations and communities in developing and developed countries. Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health (hereafter closing the gap), addresses many of the same issues as does the health and human rights community (Chapman,

Structural violence is the the systematic way in which social structures harm or give a disadvantage to individuals. Structural violence is often overlooked because it has no specific person who can be held responsible. Some examples of structural violence involve police, military, or other state powers committing violent acts; people can blame the soldier, but there are many factors that contribute to how this event occurred. As Dr. Paul Farmer stated, “structural violence is one way of describing social arrangements that put individuals and population in harm’s way... The arrangements are structural because are embedded in the political and economic organization of our social world; they are violent because it injures people. This phenomenon

With the release of the Panama Papers today online, and my great disappointment to find there weren't any Canadians of any importance implicated (besides your average millionaire Joe Shmoe or some nameless but undoubtedly flourishing corporation, no one of any importance, no one really juicy) , I was found thinking of David Cameron of all people. When Dave's dad bit the dust, he left old Dave a good chunk of offshore shares. David promptly sold them and paid taxes on them. Years later, when this came to light, the fun began. The public was incensed, Cameron hadn't been trending on Twitter this much since he'd been accused of engaging in fellatio with a pig. Twitter didn't care about the fact that he hadn't done anything illegal, they just

Paul Farmer's definition of structural violence and the way it coincides with history, biology, and storytelling adds to my deeper understanding of how violence is widespread and related to temporality. According to Farmer, structural violence is institutionalized aggression in a society or culture does not allow certain individuals to meet their full potential. Structural violence also puts these individuals at a disadvantage.