rape during the Armenian Genocide

Rape and sexual violence against Armenian women and girls were systematically perpetrated during the genocidal campaign conducted by the Young Turks government of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1917. The intentional targeting of Armenian women was part of a larger genocidal strategy aimed at exterminating the entire Armenian population, including their future generations. Rapists were largely members of Ottoman forces and affiliated groups like irregulars and Kurdish tribesmen. Rape became so widespread that it has been referred to as 'organized rape' or 'systematic rape.' The survivors faced severe physical and psychological trauma, social stigma, and difficulties in finding support and justice after the end of the genocide.