I think "persecution" implies misdeeds committed by those in authority or those in the majority.

Joe, please. It implies no such thing. "Move Along?" Who's taking the piss now?

For your benefit & education:

OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY ONLINE

persecution, n.

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Etymology: < Anglo-Norman persecution, persecucion, persecuciun and Middle French persecution... (Show More)

1.

a. An instance or act of persecuting; an injurious act.

b. spec. A particular course or period of systematic violent oppression, esp. one directed against the members of a particular religious or political group, race, etc.

c. In early use: difficulty, affliction, tribulation. Later: persistent annoyance or injury; harassment; an instance of this.

d. Oppression, esp. on the grounds of religious faith, political belief, race, etc.; the fact of being persecuted. Also: the action of pursuing or persecuting a person or group with hostile intent.

e. Psychol. Victimization, esp. as imagined in certain forms of paranoid mental disorder.

Nothing in there about majorities or groups in authority.