By Ikome Christie-noella Eposi in Buea
Under the theme “Improving standards in Gender Based Violence service provision through better CSO and service providers’ coordination”, Civil Society Organisations, CSOs, in Cameroon have decided not to relent their efforts in the fight against GBV by providing better services to survivors of experience.
The resolution/decision was made in Buea on June 20 and 21 during the National Forum for Gender Based Violence which took place at the Pan African Institute for Development in West Africa, PAIDWA.
Presiding at the forum, the CEO of LUKMEF, Christian Tanyi, told participants that the aim of the national forum is to maximise the limited resources to attain much good and fight GBV in Cameroon.
Christian Tanyi said other CSOs across Africa have gone pass the level of Cameroon, because in other African countries, CSOs “know how to protect and stand for each other”, reason why he told his colleagues that it was necessary for them to meet annually in order to evaluate the work being done to end the phenomenon.
On his part, PAIDWA’s Regional Director, Prof. Uwem Essia, presenting under the topic, “Gender Based Violence as a bad attitude”, told participants that no one is born predisposed to an attitude.
He said the concept of weakness is learned because no one was born weak. He urged women and participants to “change what you cannot tolerate and if you cannot change it, change your attitude,” he said.
Prof. Uwem Essia encouraged women to champion the change because to him, women are always at the position to change things. “Most often, women are the ones to decide which child goes to school. They are the ones children listen to because they are the ones who power most families.”
Prof Essia frowned at some malpractices like female genital mutilation, which he said, is still persisting and accused women of carrying such acts on their fellow women.
Sharing her story to the participants, a survivor of GBV, Blessing Agbor Ekito, of BAE’ Pillar Foundation said she had to stay strong in the face of trauma and ensure that it doesn’t change her. She added that, the first step to eradicating GBV is to make the relationship between parents and their children cordial, so that children can be educated on everything.
This, she went on, is to ensure that nothing will come as a surprise or taboo to them. Parents have to be friends with their children so that when in need, children can always confide in them.
“Don’t be a tyrant to your child. They need to be able to confide in you and if you are not there for them, the child dies in silence,” she noted.
On how the national campaign will be carried out, LUKMEF’s CEO and Grant Manager of UN Trust Fund-Cameroon, told reporters that he is working with the Voices of Women (VOW) programme, that has partnered with some local broadcast media to create awareness and educate victims on how to seek help from proper organisations.
The Chief of Batoke, HRH Chief Molive Molungu Otto, told the press that in his Chiefdom, he has put in place various apparatus for women to be able to lodge their complaints and that at the level of his Palace, some of the issues are addressed, while those beyond their powers are forwarded to proper state institutions.