epistemic violence

Epistemic violence is harm done through knowledge systems—dismissing, distorting, or erasing ways of knowing that belong to marginalized groups.

The term comes from postcolonial theory and describes how dominant cultures suppress other peoples' histories, languages, and frameworks for understanding the world.

Unlike physical violence, epistemic violence operates through what gets taught, published, and taken seriously: The curriculum's erasure of indigenous science is a form of epistemic violence.

The concept extends to situations where someone's capacity to speak and be understood is systematically undermined.