Global and Local Survivornomics™ : Perspectives on Structural Violence, Lived Experiences, and Health Disparities among Marginalized Youth

Health disparities among youth are a pervasive global challenge, not merely a reflection of individual behaviors or isolated issues of access. The health trajectories of adolescents and young adults from historically marginalized racial, ethnic, Indigenous, socio-economic, and other minority communities worldwide are profoundly shaped by forms of structural violence. This form of violence manifests through enduring historical legacies (e.g., colonialism, apartheid, caste systems, discriminatory land policies), ongoing systemic inequities, economic exploitation, environmental injustice, and political exclusion. These forces collectively diminish opportunities, perpetuate poverty, and create environments fundamentally antithetical to optimal health and well-being for vast populations of young people globally. Understanding the daily lived experiences and the diverse forms of resilience within these globally marginalized communities is essential for designing interventions that are not only impactful but also equitable and sustainable.

This research aims to critically examine the complex interplay between structural violence, daily lived experiences, and the resulting health challenges, disparities, and trajectories faced by youth in marginalized communities across global contexts. While specific manifestations will vary by region and population, the core mechanisms of marginalization often share common roots. Key areas of focus include:

• Direct and indirect health impacts of environmental and socioeconomic determinants: Such as lead poisoning, air and water pollution, food insecurity, unstable housing, inadequate sanitation, climate change impacts, and disproportionate exposure to community or state-sponsored violence.

• Historical and ongoing influence of systemic policies and practices: Analyzing the legacies of colonialism, neo-liberal economic policies, discriminatory national laws, and chronic disinvestment, tracing their tangible effects on health infrastructure, education, and community resources for diverse minority and marginalized groups globally.

• Survival strategies and health implications: Investigating how the adaptive behaviors young people employ to navigate hostile, resource-scarce, or conflict-affected environments, often misinterpreted or criminalized, contribute to or detract from their overall health and well-being within their respective cultural and national contexts.

• Specific health outcomes: Including disparities in sexual and reproductive health, patterns of substance use, prevalence of chronic and communicable diseases (e.g., HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, diabetes), mental health burdens (e.g., depression, anxiety, PTSD, trauma from conflict or displacement), and the impact on education, livelihood, and decision-making processes.

• Intersectionality of identities: Exploring how race, ethnicity, Indigenous status, caste, religion, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and other intersecting identities shape unique experiences of structural violence and health outcomes within and across global minority groups.

Ultimately, this research topic seeks to provide a comprehensive, empathetic, and system-level portrait of the health realities faced by marginalized youth worldwide, aiming to promote radical shifts in understanding, education, policy and practice to secure more equitable futures.

Manuscript Summary Submission Deadline: 19 January 2026
Your manuscript summary should simply be a summary of the article you plan to submit. It does not need to be the same as the abstract you will include with your full article. The topic editors will review your manuscript summary and provide feedback to consider when writing your full article. Your manuscript summary will not be published externally and there is no associated fee.
Guidelines (Max. Limits)
Summary length: 2000 words

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: health disparities, marginalized youth

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.