A national forum dedicated to combating femicide was held in Cameroon from March 25 to 27, 2026, at the Catholic University of Saint Thérèse of Yaoundé. The main objective was to identify concrete measures to curb the rise of this phenomenon.
Legal experts, mental health specialists, representatives of civil society organizations, and religious authorities participated in the discussions. The work was opened by the regional delegate for the Promotion of Women and the Family for the Center region, highlighting the seriousness of femicide in Cameroon and the need to take action.
Elie Bernard Nguele Meyanga, representing Minister Marie Thérèse Abena Ondoa, stressed the importance of continuous awareness and sustained efforts to combat violence against women. Participants highlighted existing legal gaps and the need to address them. Yvonne Akoa, president of the Cameroon Association of Women Jurists (Acafej), advocated for increased awareness, emphasizing the power inequalities between genders. She also proposed the adoption of a specific law on gender-based violence to strengthen the protection of women's rights.
Acafej, like many actors in Cameroonian civil society, has been calling for specific legislation to combat violence against women for several years. While the Cameroonian Penal Code provides for sanctions for certain acts of violence, the absence of a comprehensive law is considered an obstacle to effective victim protection. Organizations also denounce the lack of assistance to victims and the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of this violence.
Indeed, despite the existence of a Ministry for the Promotion of Women and the Family and the ratification of international conventions, gender-based violence remains a major problem in Cameroon. A 2024 Afrobarometer study reveals that about half of Cameroonians consider violence against women and girls to be a common occurrence.
At the end of the forum, a manifesto will be sent to the governor of the Center region, with the aim of contributing to improving the strategy to combat femicide. The long-term ambition is to eradicate deaths of women related to violence. The forum takes place against a backdrop of increasing cases of femicide in Cameroon. Figures from the Ministry for the Promotion of Women reported 69 cases in 2024, compared to 56 in 2023, an increase of 23.2%. These figures are potentially underestimated due to underreporting of cases.
In March 2026, Maurice Kamto, leader of the MRC, stated that 212 homicides of women had been recorded in Cameroon between 2023 and the beginning of March 2026. Faced with this situation, the theme of International Women's Day 2026 in Cameroon was "Justice for all women and girls".
The lack of centralized data makes it difficult to accurately assess the phenomenon of femicide in Cameroon. The INS, in collaboration with the UN, is working to improve data collection and harmonization in order to better understand and combat this scourge.
