Epistemic Injustice is a term coined by philosopher Miranda Fricker to describe a situation where someone is treated unfairly in their role as a knower — that is, when their knowledge, experiences, testimony, or understanding are dismissed, distorted, or undervalued because of prejudice or power imbalances.

Fricker identified two main forms:

1. Testimonial Injustice

This happens when a person’s credibility is unfairly reduced because of prejudice.

Examples:

• A woman reports abuse and is not believed because she is seen as “emotional.”
• A victim’s account is dismissed because others view them as unreliable without evidence.
• An employee’s ideas are ignored while the same ideas are accepted when voiced by someone with higher status.

2. Hermeneutical Injustice

This occurs when people lack the social concepts or language needed to make sense of their experiences.

Examples:

• Before terms such as “sexual harassment” became widely understood, many people struggled to describe or explain what was happening to them.
• Someone experiencing coercive control may know something is wrong but lack the language to identify the pattern of abuse.

In the Context of Abuse

Epistemic injustice often appears when:

• The victim’s memories, perceptions, or experiences are repeatedly questioned.
• Others believe the abuser’s version of events over the victim’s.
• The victim is told they are “imagining things,” “too sensitive,” or “crazy.”
• Evidence is ignored while false narratives are accepted.

Over time, this can undermine a person’s confidence in their own judgement and reality, which is one reason psychologists and abuse specialists take these patterns seriously.

In simple terms, epistemic injustice means being wronged in your capacity to know, understand, or communicate the truth about your own experiences.