Cameroon Grapples with Gender-Based Violence, Increased Femicides

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Several women were killed, including by current or former partners in Cameroon between August 6 to 26, some in the presence of their children. These killings are the latest signs that women in Cameroon, including domestic violence victims and survivors, have little protection or access to justice.
The Ministry for the Promotion of Women and the Family (Ministère de la Promotion de la Femme et de la Famille or MINPROFF), tasked with creating, implementing, and reviewing policies that protect women’s rights, has acknowledged a surge in reported femicides since 2023, and warned that the government’s figures represent the “tip of the iceberg.” 
Femicide is the intentional killing of women and girls with a gender-related motivation, according to the United Nations. Femicides are the most brutal manifestation of violence against women and girls. In Cameroon, violence against women and girls, including domestic violence, is widespread and rooted in entrenched gender inequality, discriminatory laws, and weak institutions, exacerbated by the government’s chronic underinvestment in prevention and survivor support. Accountability is limited, reinforcing a climate of impunity.
The government has pledged repeatedly to take action. In 2022, it adopted both a national strategy to combat gender-based violence and a national gender policy. Madame Abena Ondoa neé Obama Marie Thérèse, the minister of MINPROFF, told parliamentarians in June that her ministry was finalizing a bill to create a standalone criminal offence of gender-based violence and strengthen legal protections on women’s rights. While a national security meeting convened by the president in August discussed the increase in femicide cases, none of these steps have resulted in clear or immediate measures to remedy the situation. 
The government should urgently turn its talk into action. It should set up a coordinated taskforce across relevant government agencies including MINPROFF, Justice, Defense, National Security, Territorial Administration, and Finance, and fully fund initiatives to prevent gender-based violence and assist women. It should increase the number of domestic violence shelters across all regions and ensure that there is adequate staffing to accompany victims and survivors in accessing healthcare, support, and justice. The government should also examine and remove barriers women face in seeking protection orders, and arrest and prosecute perpetrators of violence.
The Cameroon government has made a lot of promises to women. It’s time to keep them.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
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