During the Rwandan genocide , from April until July 1994 , hundreds of thousands of women and girls were raped or became the victims of other forms of sexual violence . Although no explicit written orders to commit rape and other acts of sexual violence have been found , evidence suggests that military leaders encouraged or ordered their men to rape the Tutsis , and they also condoned the acts which were already taking place , without making efforts to stop them . Compared to other conflicts , the sexual violence in Rwanda stands out in terms of the organised nature of the propaganda that contributed significantly to fuelling sexual violence against Tutsi women , the very public nature of the rapes and the level of brutality towards the women . Anne-Marie de Brouwer concludes that considering the massive scale and public nature of war rape during the Rwandan genocide , " it is difficult to imagine anybody in Rwanda who was not aware of the sexual violence taking place . " In 1998 , the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda made the landmark decision that the war rape during the Rwanda genocide was an element of the crime of genocide . The Trial Chamber held that " sexual assault formed an integral part of the process of destroying the Tutsi ethnic group and that the rape was systematic and had been perpetrated against Tutsi women only , manifesting the specific intent required for those acts to constitute genocide . " In his 1996 report , the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Rwanda , Rene Degni-Segui stated that " rape was the rule and its absence was the exception . " The report also stated that " rape was systematic and was used as a " weapon " by the perpetrators of the massacres . This can be estimated from the number and nature of the victims as well as from the forms of rape . " A 2000 report prepared by the Organisation of African Unity ’s International Panel of Eminent Personalities concluded that " we can be certain that almost all females who survived the genocide were direct victims of rape or other sexual violence , or were profoundly affected by it "
Rwandan genocide
Rwandan genocide
Wartime sexual violence