Editing Hunger strike (section)

{{Short description|Form of protest or political activism}}
{{For|the song|Hunger Strike (song)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
[[File:Dobrzeń Wielki – protest głodowy i Grzegorz Schetyna.JPG|thumb|Residents of [[Dobrzeń Wielki]], Poland, in 2017, protesting the planned incorporation of their community to the city of [[Opole]]]]

A '''hunger strike''' is a method of [[non-violent resistance]] where participants [[fasting|fast]] as an act of political [[protest]], usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Engelbrecht |first=Cora |date=May 2, 2023 |title=Hunger Strikes Have Long Served as a Tool of Nonviolent Protest |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/02/world/hunger-strikes-explainer.html |access-date=January 29, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129045845/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/02/world/hunger-strikes-explainer.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hunger strike definition and meaning |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/hunger-strike |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406133909/http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/hunger-strike |archive-date=April 6, 2015 |access-date=October 21, 2021 |website=www.collinsdictionary.com |publisher=[[Collins English Dictionary]]}}</ref> Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are named '''dry hunger strikers'''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foltynova |first=Kristyna |title=Anatomy Of A Hunger Strike: Why Is It Done And What Does It Do To The Human Body? |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/hunger-strikes-russia/31266830.html |access-date=2024-03-25 |website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |language=en}}</ref>

In cases where an entity (usually the [[State (polity)|state]]) has or is able to obtain custody of the hunger striker (such as a [[prison]]er), the hunger strike is often terminated by the custodial entity through the use of [[force-feeding]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Savage |first=Charlie |date=October 11, 2017 |title=Military Is Waiting Longer Before Force-Feeding Hunger Strikers, Detainees Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/us/politics/guantanamo-hunger-strikes-force-feeding.html |access-date=January 29, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129015048/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/us/politics/guantanamo-hunger-strikes-force-feeding.html |url-status=live }}</ref>