What explains the variation in sexual violence perpetrated by state-security forces? Prior research has suggested sexual violence is an explicit strategy of violence. More recent work has suggested sexual violence in certain contexts acts as a tolerated practice. I argue that the type of regime institutions influences the perpetration of sexual violence by deterring behavior of individuals and providing pathways to accountability. Authoritarian regimes in general have weaker institutional accountability compared to democracies. Institutions in personalist regimes in particular are geared toward preservation of personal power, rather than accountability for the regime. Regimes with higher accountability will experience lower sexual violence, while those with lower accountability experience higher perpetration. Moreover, the gendered nature of regime institutions influences perpetration of sexual violence where masculine institutions predominate. I test these predictions using cross-national data on the incidence of sexual violence, during both peace and conflict. The results suggest that personalist regimes, and especially regimes with weaker female empowerment or higher levels of corruption, experience more sexual violence. This analysis links political institutions to the toleration of sexual violence by state-security forces, underscoring the importance of institutional structure and behavior in the perpetration of sexual violence.

中文翻译：

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国家的性暴力：政治机构在性暴力犯罪中的作用

什么解释了国家安全部队实施的性暴力行为的差异？先前的研究表明，性暴力是一种明确的暴力策略。最近的研究表明，在某些情况下，性暴力是一种可以容忍的做法。我认为，政权机构的类型通过阻止个人的行为和提供问责途径来影响性暴力的实施。与民主国家相比，威权政权的制度责任一般较弱。尤其是个人主义政权中的机构旨在维护个人权力，而不是对政权负责。问责制较高的政权将遭受较少的性暴力，而问责制较低的政权将遭受较高的犯罪。而且，政权机构的性别性质影响男性机构占主导地位的性暴力行为。我使用和平与冲突期间性暴力发生率的跨国数据来检验这些预测。结果表明，个人主义政权，尤其是女性赋权较弱或腐败程度较高的政权，会遭受更多的性暴力。该分析将政治制度与国家安全部队对性暴力的容忍联系起来，强调了制度结构和行为在性暴力实施中的重要性。结果表明，个人主义政权，尤其是女性赋权较弱或腐败程度较高的政权，会遭受更多的性暴力。该分析将政治制度与国家安全部队对性暴力的容忍联系起来，强调了制度结构和行为在性暴力实施中的重要性。结果表明，个人主义政权，尤其是女性赋权较弱或腐败程度较高的政权，会遭受更多的性暴力。该分析将政治制度与国家安全部队对性暴力的容忍联系起来，强调了制度结构和行为在性暴力实施中的重要性。