An "Access Violation" occurs when a program tries to read or write to a memory location that it is not allowed to access. This can happen due to bugs in the software, such as dereferencing a null pointer or accessing an array out of its bounds. When this violation occurs, the operating system typically terminates the program to prevent it from causing further issues. Access violations are common in programming languages like C and C++, where developers manage memory manually. They can lead to crashes or unexpected behavior in applications, making it crucial for programmers to implement proper error handling and memory management techniques to avoid these issues.