Both government forces and rebel groups use CRSV to achieve strategic advantages. For example, during the conflict in Darfur, both Sudanese government forces and rebel groups committed widespread sexual violence to intimidate and displace populations (Amnesty International, 2004).

Soldiers and officers of national armies may engage in CRSV as a tactic of war or due to a breakdown in military discipline. Reports from the Democratic Republic of Congo document extensive sexual violence committed by national army personnel (Human Rights Watch, 2009).

Law enforcement personnel and other security forces may abuse their power to commit sexual violence, often targeting vulnerable populations. In Nigeria, for instance, police officers have been implicated in sexual violence against detainees and civilians (Amnesty International, 2006).

Groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram have used sexual violence as a method of terror and control. ISIS, in particular, has documented instances of sexual slavery and forced marriages involving captured women and girls (UN, 2016).

Community-based armed groups often engage in CRSV to exert control over local populations or to settle scores with rival groups. The Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, for instance, has a notorious history of abducting and sexually exploiting young girls (HRW, 2012).

Individuals or networks involved in human trafficking exploit conflict situations to traffic women and girls for sexual exploitation. Traffickers take advantage of the chaos and lawlessness in conflict zones to perpetuate their crimes (UNODC, 2018).

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) defines rape as the penetration, however slight, of any part of the body of the victim or of the perpetrator with a sexual organ, or of the anal or genital opening of the victim with any object or other part of the body. This act is performed without consent, under coercion, force, or threat of force. Rape in conflict zones often aims to humiliate, dominate, and terrorize both individuals and communities (ICC, 2002).

Involves multiple perpetrators simultaneously or sequentially assaulting a victim. Gang rape is frequently used to instill fear and exert control over populations, as seen in conflicts in Rwanda, Bosnia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Human Rights Watch, 1996; ICTY, 2001).

This involves forcibly holding individuals in conditions akin to slavery, where they are subjected to repeated sexual abuse. The ICC considers sexual slavery a crime against humanity and a war crime. Victims of sexual slavery, such as those abducted by Boko Haram or ISIS, are often exploited for prolonged periods (UN, 2016).

Coercing individuals to remove their clothing, often in public or before their peers, to degrade and dehumanize them. Forced nudity is used to assert dominance and control, causing severe psychological trauma (Physicians for Human Rights, 2002).

Acts intended to degrade and shame the victim, which can include public nudity, verbal abuse, and other forms of psychological violence. Sexual humiliation often serves as a tool to dismantle social cohesion within communities (Amnesty International, 2004).

Inflicting physical harm on sexual organs, which can be used as a form of punishment, coercion, or terror. Mutilation leaves lasting physical and psychological scars on victims, exemplified by cases in Sierra Leone (Human Rights Watch, 2003).

Any unwanted sexual contact, which can include groping, molestation, or other forms of sexual touching. Sexual assault is widespread in conflict zones and often goes unreported due to stigma and fear of retribution (UN Women, 2018).

1. International Criminal Court. (2002). *Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court*. Retrieved from https://www.icc-cpi.int/resource-library/documents/rs-eng.pdf

2. Human Rights Watch. (1996). *Shattered Lives: Sexual Violence during the Rwandan Genocide and its Aftermath*. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/Rwanda.htm

3. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). (2001). *Prosecutor v. Kunarac, Kovac and Vukovic* (Case No. IT-96-23 & 23/1).

4. United Nations. (2016). *Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: Report of the Secretary-General*. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/report/SG-Report-2020-on-CRSV/SG-REPORT-2020-CRSV-ENGLISH.pdf

5. Physicians for Human Rights. (2002). *War-Related Sexual Violence in Sierra Leone*. Retrieved from https://phr.org/resources/war-related-sexual-violence-in-sierra-leone/

6. Amnesty International. (2004). *Sudan, Darfur: Rape as a Weapon of War*. Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/afr54/076/2004/en/

7. Human Rights Watch. (2009). *Soldiers Who Rape, Commanders Who Condone: Sexual Violence and Military Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo*. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/07/16/soldiers-who-rape-commanders-who-condone/sexual-violence-and-military-reform

8. United Nations Women. (2018). *Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: An Analytical Inventory of Peacekeeping Practice*. Retrieved from https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2018/04/addressing-conflict-related-sexual-violence

9. Human Rights Watch. (2012). *The LRA’s Legacy of Terror: The Long-term Impact of LRA Abduction in Uganda*. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/report/2012/03/21/lras-legacy-terror/long-term-impact-lra-abduction-uganda

10. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). (2018). *Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018*. Retrieved from https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2018/GLOTiP_2018_BOOK_web_small.pdf