What type of violence is often a component of genocide and mass atrocities?

The correct answer highlights a specific type of violence that is frequently associated with genocide and mass atrocities: conflict-related sexual violence. This form of violence is not only a brutal physical assault but often serves as a systematic tool of war intended to humiliate, dominate, and terrorize particular communities or ethnic groups. It is used strategically during conflicts to undermine social cohesion and to instill fear among civilian populations.

Such acts may include sexual slavery, rape, forced prostitution, and other forms of sexual coercion, and they are often committed with the intent to carry out genocide or to cause serious bodily or mental harm to members of the targeted group. Historical and current case studies exemplify how sexual violence has been a prominent aspect of genocides in places like Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, indicating its role not only as a violation of human rights but also as a crime aimed at erasing cultural identity and instilling long-term psychological trauma.

Other forms of violence mentioned, such as the destruction of property, cyber warfare, and economic sanctions, can occur during conflicts but do not specifically target individuals based on their ethnic or national identity in the same way that conflict-related sexual violence does, which is a poignant reflection of the deeper human rights violations seen in genocidal