Société

Gender-based Violence : Checkmating Investigation, Prosecution Bottlenecks To Effective Litigation

Par Kimeng Hilton
11 déc. 2024 18:15
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CARE Cameroon and the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family on December 10, 2024 in Yaounde concluded 16 Days of Activism against GBV. With a roundtable discussion on barriers to investigating and prosecuting cases.

“Gender-based Violence, GBV is a great concern to everyone - the government, civil society, private sector and technical and financial partners. We like to see all stakeholders respect government’s strategy on GBV for community people to benefit more. Some progress has been made such as the legal framework, without which it is difficult to punish those who perpetrate GBV crimes.

To Know, Defend Their Rights
“Also, much sensitisation has been going on to enable women know and defend their rights. We submitted a draft bill to government in 2023 on Gender-based Violence and are still waiting for it to come to fruition. We believe the process will be hastened up, given the growing number of feminicides in Cameroon, about which the public is becoming more aware,” said Mrs. Martine Ongola, Director of Social Promotion of Women in the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, MIPROFF. She spoke in Yaounde on Tuesday, December 10, 2024 at a roundtable conference to mark the end 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Organised by CARE Cameroon and MINPROFF.

No Specialised Courts
“The roundtable discussed the challenges of fighting Gender-based Violence. Such as strengthening the capacity of stakeholders in investigating and prosecuting crimes, cultural norms that promote GBV... Moreover, there are no specialised courts in Cameroon to handle GBV matters and no specialised centre to receive and care for GBV survivors. There is also lack of collaboration between government and the civil society in the fight against GBV. Women do not know their rights concerning GBV, thus the urgency for more sensitisation. The sharing of experiences by the civil society during the conference helped in pushing forward the cause,” Mrs Ongola noted.

National GBV Strategy
She added that Cameroon’s strategy on fighting Gender-based Violence is to cut the number of cases by half by 2026. Prevent more violence through increased awareness-raising, improve the legal framework and punish perpetrators, step up communication for the public to understand what is happening, and join efforts to take action.

Parley Between Experts
According to Mrs. Miriam Stein Mezui, CARE Cameroon Deputy Country Director in charge of Programmes, the conference sought to discuss in detail with experts from the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family and the civil society. On the barriers faced by survivors of Gender-based Violence to accessing investigation and legal services.

Difficult To Speak Out
“There are difficulties at every level. It takes much courage for survivors of rape and other kinds of sexual violence to speak out because this is neither encouraged in the family, work place or community. When a person goes to make a complaint with gendarmes or police, they are not always well received and confidentiality is not respected. So, the woman might be afraid of reprisals if she continues speaking out. On the other hand, the police and gendarmes who carry out investigations are not well trained in GBV matters. Especially on how to receive survivors, establish trust and push the case forward,” Stein Mezui went on.

Enhance Government, Civil Society Collaboration
“Concerning the recommendations by roundtable participants, the civil society needs to work together with government because the fight against Gender-based Violence is chronically underfunded. If we do not work together, it will be difficult to move forward. A draft law on GBV has been prepared and submitted to government, but is yet to be sent to Parliament. This therefore demands more advocacy for the process to move forward,” Miriam Stein suggested.

High Cost Of Services
She said other barriers to fighting GBV include the high cost of seeing investigations and court cases through; acquiring a medical certificate attesting to the violence, and lodging a complaint with the police or gendarmes. “There is a budget line in the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family to cater for survivors of Gender-based Violence, but it is grossly insufficient and not well known to the public,” Stein disclosed.

Looking Ahead
“Going forward from the exchanges, we believe there is going to be greater collaboration on reporting cases of GBV by civil society organisations which work directly with community people. The organisations now understand who to turn to in MINPROFF to find out the investigation and prosecuting requirements for GBV cases,” Miriam Stein Mezui concluded.

Statutes Not Implemented
There are different statutes in Cameroon on punishing Gender-based Violence crimes like feminicides, assassinations, incest, violence against pregnant women, sexual harassment, defamation, online violence, online abuse of children.... “The statutes exist, but on the ground, real action is not taken,” Mrs. Meva’a Yvonne, representative of the Ministry of Justice, noted.

Inadequate Funding, Ignorance
She cited barriers faced by the judiciary in fighting Gender-based Violence to include insufficient means despite the provision of legal aid services; gendarmes, police and magistrates not trained on GBV. As a result, they instead spend time stigmatising survivors of GBV, discouraging many from pursuing their cases.
She also mentioned persistent ignorance of the law, which does not help matters; and the inability to pay “incentives” demanded in the course of investigation and prosecution. Mrs. Meva’a therefore recommended the effective devolution of duties and responsibilities to local governments for them to organise training and sensitisation on GBV. Increased government funding for the care of GBV survivors, as well as continuous training of stakeholders will also help in pushing forward the process, Mrs. Meva’a stressed.