Explain the differences between ‘direct’ and `structural’ violence.

The concepts of "direct" and "structural" violence provide valuable frameworks for understanding different forms of harm and oppression experienced by individuals and communities. While both types of violence result in suffering and injustice, they operate through distinct mechanisms and have different manifestations.

1. Direct Violence:
   Direct violence refers to physical or psychological harm inflicted on individuals or groups through intentional acts of aggression, coercion, or force. This type of violence is often visible, immediate, and attributed to specific perpetrators or agents. Examples of direct violence include physical assault, verbal abuse, sexual violence, hate crimes, and acts of terrorism.

Characteristics of direct violence include:

a. Intentionality: Direct violence involves deliberate actions or behaviors intended to cause harm or exert control over others. Perpetrators of direct violence may act out of motives such as anger, hatred, greed, or power-seeking.

b. Observable Acts: Direct violence is typically manifested through observable acts or behaviors, making it easier to identify and attribute responsibility to specific individuals or groups. Victims of direct violence often experience immediate physical or emotional trauma as a result of these acts.

c. Individual Level: Direct violence occurs at the interpersonal level, involving interactions between perpetrators and victims in specific contexts or situations. It is often driven by personal conflicts, prejudices, or grievances, rather than systemic or structural factors.

1. Structural Violence:
   Structural violence refers to systemic and institutional forms of harm or oppression that result from unjust social, economic, and political structures, policies, and practices. Unlike direct violence, which involves overt acts of aggression, structural violence operates through underlying social, economic, and political inequalities that systematically disadvantage certain groups while privileging others. Structural violence is often less visible and more pervasive than direct violence, affecting individuals and communities on a larger scale.

Characteristics of structural violence include:

a. Systemic Injustice: Structural violence is rooted in systemic and institutional injustices, including unequal distribution of resources, power, and opportunities within society. These injustices are embedded in social norms, economic policies, legal frameworks, and cultural practices that perpetuate inequality and marginalization.

b. Indirect Impact: Structural violence produces harm indirectly through the unequal distribution of resources, opportunities, and social determinants of health. It results in disparities in access to healthcare, education, housing, employment, and other basic necessities, which disproportionately affect marginalized and disadvantaged groups.

c. Collective Impact: Structural violence affects entire communities or populations, rather than individual victims or perpetrators. It operates at the societal level, shaping social structures, institutions, and systems that perpetuate inequality, discrimination, and injustice over time.

d. Historical and Systemic Factors: Structural violence is shaped by historical and systemic factors, including colonialism, imperialism, racism, patriarchy, capitalism, and globalization. These structural forces create and perpetuate patterns of inequality, exploitation, and marginalization that endure across generations and contribute to social disparities and injustices.

In summary, while direct violence involves intentional acts of harm inflicted on individuals or groups through overt aggression or coercion, structural violence operates through systemic and institutional injustices that produce harm indirectly through unequal social, economic, and political structures. Both forms of violence contribute to suffering, injustice, and inequality in society, and addressing them requires comprehensive strategies that address underlying structural factors and promote social justice, equity, and human rights for all.