Abstract

This research focuses on the issue of gender-based violence (GBV) in the Southwest region of Cameroon, with Buea as a case study. The aim of this project is to examine the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in addressing and combating GBV in the region.

Gender-based violence is a pervasive problem globally, and Cameroon is no exception. The Southwest region, with Buea as a representative case, faces its own unique challenges in relation to GBV. This project seeks to shed light on the specific dynamics of GBV in this region and explore the strategies employed by NGOs to tackle this issue.

The research methodology employed for this project includes a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches. Primary data is collected through interviews with key stakeholders, including representatives from NGOs, local authorities, community leaders, and survivors of GBV. Additionally, secondary data from existing research, reports, and publications related to GBV in the Southwest region are also analyzed.

The findings of this project reveal the multifaceted nature of GBV in the Southwest region, encompassing various forms such as domestic violence, sexual assault, and harmful traditional practices. The role of NGOs in addressing GBV is instrumental, as they provide crucial support services, raise awareness, advocate for policy changes, and empower survivors.

Moreover, the project highlights the challenges faced by NGOs in their efforts to combat GBV, including limited resources, cultural barriers, and inadequate legal frameworks. It also emphasizes the importance of collaboration between NGOs, government agencies, and local communities to achieve sustainable change.

The project concludes with recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of NGO interventions in addressing GBV in the Southwest region of Cameroon. These recommendations include strengthening partnerships, increasing funding and resources, improving coordination and data collection, and promoting community engagement.

By shedding light on the specific context of GBV in the Southwest region of Cameroon and the role of NGOs, this project contributes to the existing body of knowledge on gender-based violence and provides insights for future interventions and policy development in the region.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Across the developing world, states with limited finances and riddled by poor governance and corruption have failed to lead to development for all of their citizens. Within this context, alternative forms of development have been pursued, and since the 1980s, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) have been increasingly advocated as a means through which the gulf between citizens’ needs and existing services can be bridged.

Where states cannot provide sufficient goods, services or enabling environments that help citizens in securing livelihoods, or where disadvantaged groups are excluded from existing state institutions, alternative channels of service provision and/or holding governments to account must be found. It is into this gap that NGOs have neatly fitted. It was perceived failures of state-led development approaches throughout the 1970s and 1980s that fuelled interest in NGOs as a development alternative, offering innovative and people-centred approaches to service delivery, advocacy and empowerment. (Vakil 1997).

Some definitions of ‘NGO’ have been suggested by legal status, economic and/or financial considerations, functional areas, and their organisationalfeatures – that NGOs are both non-state and self-governing (Vakil 1997). Frequently, too, NGOs have been classified by what they are not (neither government, nor profit-driven organisations), rather than what they are, highlighting their differences to and distance from the state and private sectors, who have yet to meet the interests of poor and disadvantaged groups (White 1999).

One classification we can narrow down to for our purposes is ‘Development NGOs’, but even this masks an extremely diverse set of organisations, ranging from small, informal, community-based organisations to large, high-profile, international NGOs working through local partners across the developing world. Given the difficulties defining ‘NGO’, disaggregating within the NGO sector is often based on their type. NGOs based in one country and seeking development objectives abroad are often referred to as international or northern NGOs (INGOs or NNGOs).

These organisations may have adequate finance and resources, but have limited country-level and grassroots knowledge, choosing instead to work at the local level through domestic or ‘southern’ NGO ‘partners’ (SNGOs), who are in closer proximity to communities geographically, culturally, and linguistically. While often referred to as North-South partnerships, these tend to be highly unequal, balanced heavily in favour of those with the funding and resources. (Bebbington et al 2008; Lewis and Kanji 2009)

In their role as service providers, NGOs offer a broad spectrum of services across multiple fields, ranging from livelihood interventions and health and education service to more specific areas, such as emergency response, democracy building, conflict resolution, human rights, finance, environmental management, and policy analysis (Lewis and Kanji 2009).

Interests in the contribution of NGOs to service delivery did not rise only because of the enforced rollback of state services, but also because of their perceived comparative advantages in service provision, including their ability to innovate NGOs have increased the scale on the type of roles they play. In this contemporary time, NGOs are tremendously working, and helping government, institutions, and the rural poor in the fight against poverty.

Desai (2005) has mentioned that NGOs have an important role to play in supporting women, men and households, community groups, civil society groups and expected that they can meet the welfare. Desai (2005)   accounted some role and functions for NGOs, such as counseling and support service, awareness raising and advocacy, legal aid and microfinance. These services help the people to achieve their ability, skill and knowledge, and take control over their own lives and finally become empowered and self-reliance. I agree with the author, because if a project like microfinance is enforced, the living standard of people will be improved.

Strom quits (2002) has also noted three major functions for NGOs such as (service delivery (e.g. relief, welfare, basic skills); educational provision (e.g. basic skills and often critical analysis of social environments); and public policy advocacy as this is the case with NGOs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Baccaro (2001), in his writing depicted how particular NGOs with a definite mission statements can promote the organization and “empowerment” of the poor, particularly poor women, through a combination of micro-credit, awareness-raising, training for group members which is capacity building and other social services, with an aim to reduce poverty among societies.

NGOs general aim is to alleviate poverty through activities that promote capacity building and self-reliance. Langran (2002) has mentioned that NGOs through capacity building help to sustain community development assist government in the provision of basic social amenities.

NGOs are often created in order to expand the capacities of people and government there by breaching the gap of poverty (Korten 1990) NGOs are praised for promoting community self-reliance and empowerment through supporting community-based groups and relying on participatory processes (Korten 1990; Clark 1991; Friedmann 1992; Fowler 1993; Edwards and Hulme 2012; Salamon 1994).In Sub-Saharan Africa for instance where survival for daily bread is a major hurdle, NGOs have been seen as liberators of human suffering the evidence is in Sierra Leone were sixty percent of citizens survival dependent upon donors.

Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) are an integral part of development after our liberation. They are working on various socio-economic issues. Violence against women is one of those, and this is also one of the much-talked affair in developing countries.

This article used the definition of ‘violence against women’ as described by ‘United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women’ which stated that- any act of gender- based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life (UN, 1993)

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Government and NGOs are playing significant role to preserve women and child rights. Moreover, NGOs are the real grass root level actors with Government in the prevention of violation of all over the country.

They involved in women empowerment by providing various services to the victims like shelter, medical assistance, conciliation, counseling, financial or entrepreneurial assistance, legal aid, and legal literacy, leading agitations and demonstration, etc. Literature also supports the statement as Stanley said in her paper- In response to the problem of violence against women and girls and its wide–ranging implications, many non-governmental organizations (NGO) have sought to design and implement interventions that address the problem (Stanley, 2012)

As Cameroon is a patriarchal society, our women have to face various forms of violence like

marital abuse, rape, dowry killings, acid throwing, sexual harassment, and sex slavery through trafficking (Zaman, 1999). However, the law enforcing agencies failed to give punishment to the offenders as a recent study shows that in 97% of cases the offenders remained unpunished in 2002 to 2016 (ProthomAlo, 2018).

Research shows that from 2002 to 2016, 7864 cases were filed in the in women and child tribunal court and among them, 4277 cases were settled,46% cases are running. Only 3% of offenders has been punished (ibid, 2018)

1.3 Research Questions

1. Why is combating gender-based violence Important in the community
2. What are the challenges faced by NGOs in combating gender-based violence
3. To what extent has NGO’S peacebuilding role as a strategy helped in combating gender-based violence?

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