Structural Violence and the Ordinary Lives of the Poor in Brazil
Deborah Costa Sociology: Women and Violence Due: September 28, 2011 Structural Violence and the Ordinary Lives of the Poor in Brazil History and Modernization can have its positive and negative effects on society. For the Brazilians in the article, there have been some negative effects. The Portuguese used Brazil as an economic gain for their productivity of sugar as well as many other products. However, having so many plantations increased the need for workers, therefore devaluing the working ethics of the employees in order to get the work done and spending less money.
The Import of Africans to increase production made a general statement that all people working in these plantations were Slaves. Once the modernization period came along and everything began to become industrial, these workers lost property and became even poorer. They no longer had the gardens that provided them with most of their food. They now needed to purchase their own supplies and food, which they did not make sufficient funds to support. This brought death as being viewed as a norm due to starvation. Infants usually would not survive past their first year, therefore mothers would neglect them.
They saw it as a waste of money to spend if they were going to die anyway. If the baby passed their first year, then they wouldn’t be neglected as much, yet would have to be put through other health risks such as malnutrition. Modernization also developed the separation on social classes. The rich and middle class did not want anything to do with the poor, and viewed them as if they had a disease. The poor were seen as outcasts of society. It was horrifying to read that people thought the poor were as they were because they wanted to be.
They did not understand their situation or even acknowledge how much hard work and effort they needed to put forth in order to gain the limited wages they received. The hardships and violence that these Brazilians face is labeled and viewed as structural violence. It is not seen as so much as physical abuse, even though that may be the outcome. Structural violence is based more on the systemic ways a social structure is set up that harms people from receiving their basic needs. This is exactly what is happening to these Brazilians. All they need is somewhere to live, clothing, and food.
They are being moved out from their housing which supplied them with the garden so that they may also grow their food, which leads them with less money to buy clothing. One thing that actually stood out to me in this article is that in Brazil, they actually supply medical visits for the poor and give them prescriptions for medication, yet they can’t provide them with the basic needs of food and water, which is most likely cheaper. This “Medicalization of Poverty” is good which guarantees health visits for all, however, displays that people are being diagnosed improperly.
People are being diagnosed with this “nervousness syndrome” and going out to pay for these medications when all they really need is food! Fatigue, shaking, change in skin color can all be results from malnourishment, which any physician should know to rule in to the problem. This is an example of structural violence. People are being lead to invest in these costly medications which they do not need and will not help them. One similar article which came to mind that reminds me of Structural Violence as well would be the student nurses.
The structure on how experienced nurses must “Eat their Young” is very unnecessary and depriving the student nurses of their basic need of gathering more medical information in the clinical setting. They should be more focused on the education of their students, not intimidating them. Also, the structure of the ratio of patient to nurses is also wrong. Presently nurses are being pulled in so many different directions that lead to medical or medication errors. I believe each nurses should have the most 3 to 4 patients because any more would be depriving the patient from receiving the attention and care they deserve.
Structural as many other types of violence can be resolved with the efforts of people in other social classes and the government. People need to stop being so ignorant and educate themselves that poor people don’t live the life they have because they want to. The circumstance they are in makes it hard for many of them to ever come out of it and live a better life. The government should also take into account that there are many poor people who need help, and not deny them of their basic needs. If they are fed properly and work in healthier environments, then medical visits would be less necessary than what they are now.
