This article provides an overview of the relevant international legal considerations associated with sexual assault in armed conflict. A historical summary of international and domestic conflicts arising over the 20th century outlines the increasing development of mass-rape as a war tactic. This overview stresses further the resulting legal implications, which may hinder the prosecution of sexual violence in warfare. The author then discusses the international conventions and International Criminal Court jurisprudence that support conceptualizing rape in armed conflict as genocide. The conceptual legal benefit of this approach is analyzed, which highlights that genocidal intent, committed in tandem with rape, can be inferred in circumstances of armed conflict. The author further examines how sexual violence may fit within one or more of the five requisite elements of genocide set out in the Genocide Convention. Understanding rape as genocide further achieves justice-oriented policy objectives including successful prosecution and closure for victims.