Civilian victimization
Violence targeting noncombatants in war / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Civilian victimization is the intentional use of violence against noncombatants in a conflict.[1][2][3] It includes both lethal forms of violence (such as killings), as well as non-lethal forms of violence such as torture, forced expulsion, and rape.[1]
This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. (September 2021) |
Scholars have identified various factors that may either provide incentives for the use of violence against civilians, or create incentives for restraint. Violence against civilians occurs in many types of civil conflict,[4] and can include any acts in which force is used to harm or damage civilians or civilian targets. It can be lethal or nonlethal. During periods of armed conflict, there are structures, actors, and processes at a number of levels that affect the likelihood of violence against civilians.[5]
Violence towards civilians is not “irrational, random, or the result of ancient hatreds between ethnic groups.”[6]: 91 Rather, violence against civilians may be used strategically in a variety of ways, including attempts to increase civilian cooperation and support; increase costs to an opponent by targeting their civilian supporters; and physically separate an opponent from its civilian supporters by removing civilians from an area.[7]
Patterns of violence towards civilians can be described at a variety of levels and a number of determinants of violence against civilians have been identified.