The three layers of violence
The term nonviolence is used to describe the philosophy and practice of nonviolent action, together with nonviolent resistance as another common term. Both terms face criticism as they are a negative, instead of a positive (stating what it is not).
The positive of nonviolence would be peacefulness (filled with peace), and could eventually become the word to describe nonviolent action, as there is inherent power in using positives instead of negatives to describe something.
However, due to the popular use of nonviolence, Sankara has embraced it’s usage in our blogs and work. Nonviolence means that one aims to remove any violence from its actions, but also words and thoughts. To better understand this and help you in doing this, it helps to become aware of the three layers of violence; physical violence, verbal violence and mental violence.
To become truly nonviolent we must remove all violence from ourselves first. It we have become truly nonviolent ourselves, we can start helping others to heal from their violence. Gandhi described this as: “Become the change you want to see in the world.”
The three layers of violence
- Physical violence
Physical violence involves the use of physical force to harm another being. Examples of physical violence are:
- hitting
- slapping
- kicking
- using weapons
Physical violence often has immediate consequences, such as injuries or hospitalization, but it usually also causes long-term psychological damage. Victims may develop chronic anxiety, PTSD, or depression.
- Verbal violence
Verbal violence involves the use of language to demean, belittle, or control another person. Unlike physical violence, verbal abuse does not leave visible scars, but its effects can be just as damaging. Examples of verbal violence are
- yelling
- insults
- threats
- derogatory comments
The rise of social media has amplified this type of violence, with cyberbullying becoming a significant issue in today’s digital age. Victims of verbal violence often experience psychological consequences such as low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. They may also feel isolated or powerless, especially if the abuse continues over time.
- Mental violence
Mental violence originate from violent thoughts, and are completely invisible from the outside, as they are not as visible as physical force or words. It is the most insidious form of violence because it’s harder to detect. Examples of mental violence are:
- Gaslighting (making someone doubt their perceptions or sanity)
- Controlling behaviors (e.g., monitoring someone’s activities or limiting their freedom)
- Emotional blackmail (using guilt or fear to manipulate)
- Isolation from friends, family, or support systems
Mental violence erodes a person’s sense of self-worth and autonomy. Victims may feel trapped in their situation, believing that they have no way out. The psychological toll can be devastating, leading to long-term mental health issues such as anxiety disorders, depression, and even suicidal thoughts.
Radicalization
The three layers of violence are essential to understand the process of radicalization, from concerned citizen to violent terrorist. While activism from concerned activists is an essential democratic practice, when citizens are radicalized and filled with violence, to the extent that they use violence against others, it is undermining democracy and peaceful societies.
1. Activism
Activism is using nonviolent action to solve a popular grievance.
2. Extremism
Extremism is when solving a popular grievance is coupled with clearly dehumanizing the group perceived as causing the grievance.
3. Terrorism
Terrorism is when the group perceived as causing the grievance is not only dehumanized but also the target of physical violence.
Anger and violence
When you link this to the layers of violence, activism based on anger could lead to mental violence, while extremism inherently leads to verbal violence and terrorism inherently leads to physical violence.
As such, there are many activists who are so angry, that they are filled up with mental violence, and because it is hard to detect, it can slowly but surely radicalize them. Usually you can feel it in conversations if activists or citizens are filled up with mental violence.
There are also many angry persons who perceive themselves as activists, but have become extremists instead, usually the result of too much internalized mental violence, made visible by them using verbal violence.
The fictional Jedi character Yoda from Star Wars was right when he argued that: “fear is the path to the dark side – fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.”
Heal yourself from violence
If you want to practice nonviolence, and as such want to heal yourself from all violence, it helps to first focus on stopping physical violence, then verbal violence and at the deepest level, mental violence. This could be described as the “good deeds, good words and good thoughts” practice, comparable to the Zoroastrian religion from Iran (or Persia).
