Violence Against Women
Gender Equity
Masculinity remains a central tenant of many cultures in North-west Cameroon. Socio-cultural practices in North-western Cameroon discriminate against women, lessening their respect, bargaining power, independence, and perceived capacity in the household, workplace, and community. Girls access less education than their male counterparts, as they are prepared for marriage and family-bearing; oftentimes this is encouraged by a girl’s family to bring in bride wealth. Although Cameroon’s Labor Code provides adequate protection for a pregnant woman and a woman who has given birth, practical experience shows that more and more women, especially at the higher management level, are required to give up their maternity leave, at least partially or at least to adjust it, to keep their job. Thus, in practice, a woman cannot take advantage of the time off she has a legal right to.
Click HerePrevention of Violence Against Women and Girls
Female circumcision (FC) and female genital mutilation (FGM) is still practiced in certain regions of Cameroon, especially in the extreme North, the South-west, and the North-east. FC/FGM affects about 20% of the female population[1].
49% of men and 41% of women agreed it is justified for a man to beat his wife in recent survey[2], exemplifying the prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). An uptick in gender-based violence (GVB) and domestic violence continues to cause concern. Influence of social values make it difficult to report or to seek help. Few women know where to access support when faced with GBV, and few medical clinics and health professionals are trained to provide guidance or support. Victims of incest often refrain from filing complaints, often out of shame, a desire to protect the family, or out of fear of becoming social outcasts; courts rarely hear cases of this nature.
Response to Violence Against Women and Girls
Health care for women’s sexual health is limited. Wide-spread denial of HIV/AIDS—despite awareness-rising campaigns—stigmatizes carriers as ‘loose women’ rather than products of untreated sexually transmissible infections (STI). Sex education remains a taboo subject, except in the Muslim community, which teaches it as a part of religious instruction; information about reproductive health is rarely made available. Many adolescents are uninformed about matters of sexual health and are consequently at risk of unwanted pregnancies[1]. Access to contraception is rare, even for married women. Abortion, as a product, is known to be common and hushed practice in Cameroon. These ‘clandestine’ abortions come at high risks to women and girls.
GBV presents itself through non-physical routes as well. Women are denied land and property rights often: women rarely own land, and if it is owned by their husbands, they rarely inherit when widowed. Protection of women’s rights is a high priority in shifting the social standing of women and girls.
Changepoints:
- Access to reproductive health care
- Including education
- Reduction of girls’ early marriages
- Reduction of FC and FGM
- Prevention and response against VAWG
- Including land and legal rights abuses
