[1][4] In contrast to torture, which has been extensively documented and studied by historians, sexual violence has remained for a long time a taboo subject, for both Algerian and French sides.
[1] After the start of the Algerian War in 1954, women played an increasingly important role in the operations carried out against the French army in Algeria.
[6] Consequently, the French authorities ordered soldiers to start paying closer attention to the actions of Algerian women,[7] who became subject to arrest and interrogation under the suspicion of aiding the FLN revolutionaries.
[4] This type of rape occurred during the searches of Algerian villages, or mechtas, specifically in remote and rural areas, such as Kabylia, and it could be either planned or opportunistic, with the latter being more common.
[4] Opportunistic rape happened during official inspection of villages, and in contrast to the first type, these searches were not secret but were planned and authorized by the chiefs.
[1] The use of rape by the French army was primarily to break the Algerian people and make them suffer, specifically those considered conquered by the FLN.
[1] By committing rape, French soldiers knew that they would be shaking the social order of the Algerian society at that time, which valued women's honor and virginity, which must be protected by men.
[1][8] During this time, rape was part of an extensive use of violence against the local population, as a response to a preceding military operation carried out by the FLN where the French casualties were high.
[1][9] In addition to these archives, historians have also relied on journals, letters, and testimonials by the French soldiers stationed in Algeria during the war.