Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Marie Therese Abena Ondoa, says the government is strengthening efforts to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors. She made the statement while speaking at the seventieth session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
The minister noted that reforms in the Cameroon Penal Code removed discriminatory provisions on adultery and scrapped a clause that previously protected rapists from prosecution if they married their victims. She explained that the change helped curb practices that encouraged early marriages.
Ondoa added that since 2009, authorities have been offering legal assistance to victims, while a new bill specifically targeting gender-based violence is currently under preparation.
She further highlighted several national initiatives aimed at addressing the problem. These include a national strategy against gender-based violence, a National Plan for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation, and a multi-sectoral programme designed to end child marriage.
According to the minister, the government has also introduced mobile legal clinics and comprehensive care services for survivors across all ten regions of the country, including conflict-affected areas. Police stations and gendarmerie units have equally established “Gender Desks” and “Child Desks” to handle sensitive cases, while closed court hearings help protect the dignity of victims of sexual violence.
On the sidelines of the meeting, African ministers also held consultations under the umbrella of the African Union to coordinate Africa’s position at the Commission on the Status of Women and discuss priorities for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment across the continent by 2026.
