Galtung's Typology of violence -- We need to think upside down !!!

Abstract

Since its introduction in 1969, Galtung's typology of violence has been the theoretical benchmark towards understanding the relational characteristics of direct (DV), structural (SV)and cultural violence (CV). Unique to this theory is the visibility of DV and the invisibility of SV and CV. In the Pacific space, the application of Galtung’s violence theory can be problematic in that not all aspects of DV are visible. This paper examines an alternative approach towards the application of Galtung’s violence typology in the Pacific space where DV is invisible and SV and CV are visible. This inverted approach provides a bespoke application and perspective of why the Pacific diaspora has a high representation in social issues such as domestic violence, poverty, low income, housing, mental health and substance abuse issues.