Hierarchy

a system in which people or things are put at various levels or ranks according to their importance:

He rapidly rose in the corporate hierarchy.

Diminish

to reduce or be reduced in size or importance:

 The threat of inflation is diminishing.

 A single-payer system would diminish the bureaucratic cost of health.

maltreatment

to treat someone cruelly or violently

He had been badly maltreated as a child. 

They complained about the physical and psychological maltreatment of prisoners.