The symbolic violence of ‘outbreak’: A mixed methods, quasi-experimental impact evaluation of social protection on Ebola survivor wellbeing

Despite over 28,000 reported cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the 2013-16 outbreak in West Africa, we are only beginning to trace the complex biosocial processes that have promoted its spread. Important questions remain, including the effects on survivors of clinical sequelae, loss of family and livelihood, and other psychological and social trauma. Conducting a survey and in-depth interviews to assess participants’ wellbeing and food security, the authors show how short-term social protection during the vulnerable period post-discharge can pay dividends two years later. They conclude with a discussion of how terms such as “outbreak” and “epidemic” do symbolic violence by creating the illusion that social suffering ends when transmission of a pathogen ceases.