LAUNCH OF THE DRAFTING PROCESS FOR THE VBG BILL
Result of an advocacy campaign conducted by wilpf cameroon as part of its human rights program on women, peace and security.
Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at the Hilton Hotel in Yaoundé, WILPF Cameroon represented by its President Ms. Nathalie Foko and Secretary General Armelle Ndongo, took part in the launch of the drafting process of the preliminary bill on the protection of women and girls against GBV.
Chaired by the Minister for the Promotion of Women and the Family(#MINPROFF), the session was attended by a wide range of stakeholders, including government ministries, development partners, UN agencies, diplomatic missions, civil society organizations and the media.
Various speeches were given by the Director of Operations of the World Bank, the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System, the Representative of the Minister of Justice and the Minister for the Promotion of Women and the Family.
The #MINJUSTICE representative expressed the wish that this law would not be one too many, but that it would truly be a tool to protect women against GBV and henceforth prosecute all others of this violence.
The Minister hailed this initiative as timely, given the resurgence of GBV in our society.
In addition to the speeches, a number of presentations were made.
* Situational analysis of gender-based violence in Cameroon by Ms. Bekono Françoise, Deputy Director for the Promotion of Women’s Rights at MINPROFF. The presentation covered three main points
– The presentation of GBV as a violation of universal human rights protected by regional and international instruments.
– The 6 main types of GBV identified in Cameroon (physical, sexual, psychological, social, economic and harmful cultural practices)
– Finally, statistics from the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) show that: (52.6% of women in unions have suffered domestic violence, with 54 cases of femicide, 1 in 3 women has already suffered physical violence, 42% emotional violence, 38% sexual violence, 1.4% genital mutilation, etc.).
* Presentation of digitized mapping of GBV, services and initiatives that are available and accessible to respond appropriately and according to the guiding principles of safety protection, health and psychosocial care, legal aid services and access to training and economic empowerment opportunities.
* Women, business and the law. These two presentations were made by the World Bank representative present at the ceremony.
UN Women recruited an expert to help structure the law.
