ffectively eradicate the “web of causation” of homelessness.The problem of violence facing American children and youth is addressed by James Gilligan in his book Violence: Our Deadly Epidemic and Its Causes. In the chapter entitled “The Deadliest Form of Violence is Poverty,” Gilligan follows Bronfenbrenner’s approach by asserting that “trying to understand violent behavior in purely individual terms is impossible and wrong-headed.” He claims that any approach towards a theory violence in our country must begin by looking at “structural violence.” According to Gilligan, “structural violence” is defined as “the increased rates of death and disability suffered by those who occupy the bottom rungs of society,” compared to the lower death rates of those who are above them in social and economic class. The language Gilligan uses itself suggests that violence is an institution – one that is created by the operation of forces at each level of the ecological model - and one that affects each level, including the child at the center. At the level of the microsystem, unemployment breeds violence, as the inability to achieve self-sufficiency is viewed by American society, at the level of the macrosystem, as a deficiency within the individual. These attitudes in our culture cause some individuals living in poverty to feel shameful, causing them to act violently as means of demanding respect. Caretakers who are contemplating suicide, parents who turn violent during domestic disputes, and siblings and friends who turn to gangs for a sense of belonging are all victims of structural violence, who in turn victimize children through their violent acts.In accordance with Gilligan, Sherman suggests that violence among the poor is a result of isolation and degradation. According to Sherman, “among poor parents with strong support, yelling and slapping are vir...
