Abstracts

The purpose of the study was to examine the role of NGO in advocating for sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls in the Buea municipality. The main objective of the study where to examine the various forms of SRHR violations, the strategies used in advocating and the challenges faced during the execution faced.

Primary data was collected in the form of questionnaires and interview. Data was analysis with SPSS version 23 and the findings show that women and girls faced violation in the form of male perpetrators, child abuse, violence against pregnant women, conflicts and physical violence.

Strategies to help remedy this include training programs, provision of reference materials, and distribution of conceptive and face challenges like accessibility, the study therefore recommends that women should be economically empowered, information, education, and counseling on the ills of violence to both men and women.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

The protection and promotion of reproductive and sexual health (RSH) has evolved over time as individuals and organizations recognized the pressing need and demonstrated the fortitude to express their anger, fear, and demands for change. The International Human Rights (IHR) framework has, in many respects, been receptive to these views.

Within this structure, the content and meaning of human rights have steadily shifted to include diverse voices. Within the IHR system, there is a growing realization that reproductive rights constitute a component of current human rights provisions in international treaties.

As such, efforts to eradicate practices such as female genital cutting (FGC) or forced sterilization have given new meaning to the right to be free of cruel and humiliating treatment, as well as the right to liberty and security of the person. In other circumstances, the battle to provide teenagers with high-quality reproductive health services has reaffirmed the right to healthcare without regard for age. In certain nations, framing official inaction on preventable causes of maternal mortality as a matter of social justice has given the right to life new significance. Merali, I. (2000).

The recognition and enjoyment of sexual and reproductive rights, as well as the right to health, which encompasses reproductive health, are all extremely important issues for women, particularly in developing countries. It is the responsibility of states parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Convention) to assess the extent to which women are able to exercise their rights in an effective manner. This report examines the rights that have been of particular concern to the Committee, as well as other issues critical to women’s reproductive health, as addressed in international consensus documents adopted at recent conferences in Vienna (1993), Cairo (1994), Copenhagen (1995), and Beijing (1996), as well as other issues critical to women’s reproductive health (1995).

Women face widespread discrimination in all societies. This discrimination breaches a slew of human rights and necessitates immediate action. This study, on the other hand, is primarily concerned with women’s sexual and reproductive rights, as well as the reality affecting these rights in Cameroon. Articles 2(2) and 3 ensure that all persons have equal access to the Covenant’s rights. In daily life, as well as the job, women are constantly confronted with concerns of sexuality, reproductive health, and gender equality. As a result, women’s reproductive rights are a fundamental component of the Committee’s mandate. Katzive, L.(1999).

As stated at the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994 and the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, reproductive rights “encompasse certain human rights already recognized in national legislation, international human rights treaties, and other consensus documents,” including the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. According to paragraph I.18 of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, “women’s and girl child’s human rights are an intrinsic, integral, and indivisible aspect of universal human rights.”

Additionally, paragraph II.41 recognizes “the critical nature of women achieving the highest possible level of physical and mental health throughout their lives… [as well as] a woman’s right to accessible and adequate health care, the broadest possible range of family planning services, and equal access to education at all levels.” Reproductive rights are critical for women’s health and equality, and it is critical that states parties take their responsibility to protecting them seriously. PERU, R. R. I. (1998).

Despite Cameroon’s efforts to improve health care, the number of health clinics offering family planning services are inadequate and the majority of those that do are located in urban areas. Act No. 90/035 of 1990, prohibiting birth control propaganda, limits Cameroonian women’s access to information to enable them to choose a contraceptive method and thus violates their rights under Articles 12 and 15(1) (b) of the Covenant. Information, education, and communication strategies can increase the prevalence of family planning methods, which would improve reproductive health. Promotion of effective contraception can also prevent recourse to abortion. It is therefore necessary to establish an effective reproductive health awareness-raising program for women.

Cameroon’s abortion law, which allows abortion solely for medical reasons or pregnancy caused by rape, also has major implications for women’s reproductive health. Clandestine abortion is quite prevalent in Cameroon, accounting for 40% of obstetric and gynecological emergency admissions.

1.2 Statement of Problem

Violence against women and girl is one of the most pervasive of human rights violations, denying women equality, security, dignity, self-worth, and their right to enjoy fundamental freedoms in the world. Domestic violence against women and girls is a multifaceted problem that requires proactive mitigation strategies by the society, government, families and individuals.

According to United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF, 2014), the issue of sexual and reproductive is a major problem in the society in that, the main victims; women and children suffer from it, “in places where they should be safest: within their families at the hands of somebody close to them- somebody they should be able to trust”.

The Buea municipality, has a population of about 300,000 with a female population of 186,000 (2015 census) has extremely limited laws pertaining to women’s rights and sextual violence (World Bank, 2014). These laws do not exactly forbid sextual and reproductive violence, although assault is sometimes punishable by fines and imprisonment yet not always prohibited (U. S. Department of State, 2011).  LUKMEF (Martin Luther King Memorial Foundation) a nongovernmental organization in Cameroon posited in its 2008 study that nearly 25% of women had suffered sexual and reproductive abuse from their partners (U.S. Department of State, 2011). Another survey from the national newspaper Cameroon Tribune indicated that about 10% to 20% of women living with a male partner were victims of either sexual or psychological violence (U. S. Department of State, 2011).

Additional sexual and reproductive abuses against women and girls, Cameroon has adopted strategies aimed at eliminating violence against women, including ratification of international laws penal codes, and support of local and international efforts that promote women; however, many of the laws remain in name only and are rarely enforced, given women’s lack of financial access to quality lawyers and an unsympathetic male-dominated police force (Chishugi, 2016).

Underreporting and culturally accepted abuses remain a challenge, too, as the country seeks to understand the extent of abuses and how to effectively fight against them. A complete paradigm shift in cultural attitude toward the female gender is required for abuses to cease (Chishugi, 2016)

In terms of actual numbers, according to a demographic and health survey conducted by the Cameroon’s National Institute for Statistics (INS,2004), with technical assistance from Maryland-based organic Rankine Cycle(ORC) in 2004, 39 percent,14 percent and 28 percent of the surveyed women who were in a relationship or who had been in a relationship had respectively experienced physical violence, Sexual violence or emotional violence at the hands of their partner (INS and ORC Macro, 2005).

The Cameroonian profile in the 2009 Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) for Cameroon, which is published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), points out that while there is a lack of reliable statistics on the number of women affected by violence in the country.

The number of media reports on such cases indicates that this phenomenon is widespread. A poster that was presented at the International Conference on Population in 2009 states that the persistent high rate of violence against women in Cameroon can be partly explained by the fact that such violence may be ignored or even accepted by the society (Takwa, 2009). Similarly, the shadow report submitted to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) indicates that violence against women is very prevalent but lacks recognition as a social problem since it is sometimes invariably accepted as a way of life (WIRA et al., 2007).

Majority of women going through some form of violence in the Buea municipality tend to have a very low socioeconomic status. This is mostly because women experiencing violence most often than not, are prevented from working, restricted from interacting with friends, shy away from attaining their full potentials.

Sometimes, they do it intentionally but most often, they are forced to do so by their perpetrators of violence. They hardly attain high levels of education, rarely climb to the top of their employment ladder, always shy away from social activities and do not always have control of their income.

Most of these violated women spend most of their time in hospitals, legal departments or even lost in their own very little world of depression and pain, most of them feel trapped in these violent and unproductive relationships being that they cannot leave for one reason or another. All these most often prevents them from being very productive or even interactive.

In Buea, Cameroon, violence against women continues to be one of the major issues being handled by the chiefs and the court of law. It is in this view that this study seek to examine on the influence of domestic violence against women on their socioeconomic status.

1.3 Research Questions

1.3.1 Main Research Questions

What is the role of LUKMEF in advocating for the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls in Buea Municipality?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions

1. What are the various forms of sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHRS) violations women and girls experience in Buea municipality?
2. What are the various strategies used by LUKMEF in advocating for the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls?
3. What are the challenges experienced by LUKMEF in advocating for SRHR of women and girls in Buea municipality?

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