Société

Tech To Curb GBV : University Students Lead Digital Fight

By Mary NKEMNGONG
17 Dec 2025 11:07
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Held from December 8 to 10, youthful ingenuity was channelled toward transforming students from potential victims of digital violence into architects of a safer future.

The "Tech Against Gender-Based Violence Hackathon," (GBV) which successfully concluded the 2025 edition of the 16 Days of Activism Against the vice, set the grounds for youthful innovation in Yaoundé.
Organized by CARE Cameroon and the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family (MINPROFF), the 48-hour event challenged over 30 tech-savvy youths to develop prototypes to combat the rising tide of online abuse. Underscoring the urgency of the event, Professor Marie-Thérèse Abena Ondoa, Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, noted that the Internet has tragically become a "breeding ground for the perpetration of violence".
To John Mubalama, Country Director of CARE Cameroon, the contest was designed to "develop prototypes that would be used to combat the rising GBV online."
Emerging victorious was Team Code for Her, composed entirely of talented students from the University of Buea's Faculty of Engineering and Technology. They clinched the top prize of FCFA 500,000 for creating a secure, systemic browser extension. According to them, this tool is designed to proactively detect and prevent gender-based threats from reaching secondary parties, offering a crucial layer o...