Where Does Violence Begin?
A 12-axis self-assessment exploring your sensitivity to different dimensions of harm, coercion, and structural violence.
This instrument maps your ethical orientation across twelve axes of violence perception. It is not a test with right or wrong answers — it is a mirror for how you see harm in the world.
- 72 questions, 12 axes of ethical sensitivity
- Takes approximately 15-20 minutes
- There are no right or wrong answers
This instrument maps ethical sensitivity across 12 axes, each capturing a distinct dimension of how people perceive harm, coercion, and structural violence. It is not a psychological test and does not diagnose anything.
How it works
72 questions (6 per axis) using 7-point scales tailored to each question. Some items are reverse-scored to detect acquiescence bias. Each axis includes one control item to check for thoughtful engagement.
Scoring
Each axis score is the average of its 5 scored items (excluding the control). Reverse-scored items are inverted (8 minus the raw score). Higher scores indicate greater sensitivity to that dimension of harm.
Limitations
This is a self-report instrument with no external validation study. Scores reflect self-perception, not objective sensitivity. Cultural context significantly affects interpretation. The framework was designed as an exploratory and educational tool, not a psychometric instrument.
Theoretical foundations
The axes draw on several intellectual traditions:
- -Structural violence — Johan Galtung, 'Violence, Peace, and Peace Research' (1969)
- -Epistemic injustice — Miranda Fricker, 'Epistemic Injustice: Power and the Ethics of Knowing' (2007)
- -Normalization of harm — Hannah Arendt, 'Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil' (1963)
- -Consent and existence — David Benatar, 'Better Never to Have Been' (2006)
- -Structural responsibility — Iris Marion Young, 'Responsibility for Justice' (2011)