CIVITAS Cameroon

As part of the International Safe Abortion Day, the Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians of Cameroon (SOGOC) brought together health professionals, activists, and citizens to address an important issue: access to safe abortion care. The event, which was held on Friday, October 4, 2024, at the Noblesse Hotel, in Yaounde 1, highlighted the health and social issues surrounding abortion in the country. Alarming Statistics Every year, approximately 25 million unsafe abortions are performed worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. In Cameroon, abortion is legal only in very limited cases, such as rape or when the pregnancy endangers the mother’s health. This restrictive legislation has dramatic consequences, making clandestine abortion the third leading cause of maternal mortality. At the event, a mother’s testimony illustrated the dangers of unsafe abortions in one of the videos projected during the session. She shared her heartbreaking experience: “I had no choice. I had to resort to dangerous methods to end my pregnancy. I was just happy that I did it, but I almost lost my life.” This story resonates with many women in Cameroon facing similar situations. A Call for Awareness and Action The President of the Society of Gynecologists and Obstetricians, Professor Emile Mboudou, stressed the importance of educating the public and raising awareness among policymakers. “We must promote women’s health and reduce barriers to access to quality health care. Safe abortion must be integrated into comprehensive health care,” he said. The President of SOGOC, Dr. Emile Mboudou The films presented during the evening also played a key role in giving a voice to women who are often left behind in this debate. These visual stories highlight women’s struggles and the need to reform abortion laws in Cameroon. A Future to Build Speakers called for collective action to ensure safe abortions and reduce the stigma surrounding the issue. Participants were encouraged to act as advocates in their communities, support local organizations, and share their knowledge on this vital topic. << Every action, however small, can contribute to reducing mortality linked to clandestine abortion, >> concluded Professor Mboudou. On this day dedicated to safe abortion, the commitment of health professionals and civil society could well be the beginning of a necessary change for women’s health in Cameroon.

Great sensitization by the U.S. Embassy and CIVITAS Cameroon on The International Day of the Girl Child ,October 11, 2024. "Girls' Vision for the Future," emphasizing the urgent need for action and the hopeful aspirations of girls globally amidst various challenges such as climate change, conflict, and poverty. In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170, officially establishing October 11 as International Day of the Girl Child (IDGC). The purpose of this resolution is to officially recognise the rights of girls and increase awareness of the unique challenges they face around the world. -Movie on inspirational excepts of /by Malala Yousafzai. Reading, discussing and owning the Declaration of the girl child. -SDG 5 -Opportunities offered by US Embassy Yaoundé for the empowerment of the girl child. Participatory session with girls of Government High School Émana . Yaounde .Cameroon.

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Trauma recovery, healing, and posttraumatic growth. • Reconnecting with self, others, and the world. Posttraumatic growth is conceptualized as positive changes that are attained by some individuals as a result of their survival of a highly stressful event positive post-trauma changes occur through the process of making meaning out of a traumatic event and overcoming initially high levels of psychological distress. ASHES TO BEAUTY. -Interventions to promote trauma recovery have focused primarily on adapting self-awareness, improving coping styles, and facilitating social support. There is a need to explore survivor perspectives of their trauma recovery journey by learning more about the nature of their healing process, as well as their healing goals for the future. LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL RESPONSES TO GBV. • Social environment combined with internal experiences greatly impact one’s healing process. The first main influencing factors within one’s environment are societal values and expectations. This manifests when reflecting on one’s responsibility surrounding the GBV experience itself, as well as one’s responsibility afterward. • The internal factors that hinder GBV healing include feelings of shame, self-blame, fear of judgment, self-doubt, withdrawal, and secrecy among women. Common negative social responses, not believing the survivor, blaming the survivor in some way for her GBV experience, or passing judgment on the survivor for prolonged distress or her actions following her GBV experience. family/friends just say, “Can’t you put this behind you? Creating meta-barriers to trauma recovery. The merging between an individual’s idea of her role both before and after her GBV experience, and how she believes she is meeting society’s expectations of her role, directly impacts her satisfaction with her trauma recovery process as well as her resulting internal self-appraisal. • The societal value of needing to be “strong” and “independent” Often, this causes women to try to force “getting over” GBV experience quickly or try to heal “all on their own,” while giving the “appearance of being normal”. The need and expectation to be strong often cause women to grow frustrated when they are emotionally affected by GBV, manifesting in shame that they “could not get past this,” self-blame that they were not “doing enough,” and self-doubt that they were “not as strong as they wanted to believe they were” I am Superwoman because I want to be treated like I am strong”. • The normalization of violence. women either think that their experience was “no big deal” or that they were to blame. The normalization of violence often causes women to minimize their experiences, believe their experience was “not serious enough” to report, or not initially recognize that violence was happening, resulting in denial and repression of their resulting emotions. surrounding oneself with “good people” #EmpowerAwoman #ZeroTolerance #LegalLitracy

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Agenda is global, it does not belong to a single State, party, or person, but is a universally agreed set of priorities, goals, and indicators that will require coordinated efforts to succeed. In line with SDG 17, the National Women’s Convention for Peace in Cameroon had a working session with Mme Rachel Kakudji and her team, a distinguished representative of the Office of Public Discourse at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, Israel, offers the National Women's Convention for Peace in Cameroon an unparalleled opportunity to enhance visibility, influence, and strategic alignment with global Peace-building and gender equality initiatives. Agenda 2030 sets out a vision of “peaceful, just and inclusive societies that provide equal access to justice and that are based on respect for human rights …, on effective rule of law and good governance at all levels and on transparent, effective and accountable institutions”. • Peace-building and Social Cohesion: SDG 16 Promotes just, peaceful, and inclusive societies, access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. • Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women: SDG 5 ending discrimination against women and girls, eliminating all forms of violence against all women and girls, and ensuring women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of public life. Visible and Vocal.

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Join us for an impactful conversation around: .Trauma recovery, healing, and posttraumatic growth. • Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a violation of human rights. GBV can encompass such acts as intimate partner violence, sexual violence, forced prostitution, genital cutting, stalking, etc. Any gender can experience GBV, women face disproportionately high rates of GBV, An analysis of the nature of healing revealed three main objectives: reconnecting with the self, others, and the world. #EmpowerAwoman

Gender-Based Violence is deemed to be one of the most common violations of Human Rights ,where women and girls are disproportionately affected. Gender-motivated killings of women, or femicide, constitutes as the most severe expression of Gender-Based Violence against women, and includes the predisposition that women are targeted and murdered on the basis of sex, thereby displaying a deep sense of both misogyny and inequality. Gender-Based Violence against women may amount to violence that potentially could be described as bias crimes. These bias crimes, or killings of women motivated by the fact that they are women, are usually defined as femicide. #EmpowerAwoman #EndGBV

Exciting news from Yaoundé! 🌿🚲 The "Mobilité Verte (MoVe) Yaoundé" project is making waves as part of the global Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI) to revolutionize urban transportation. 🌍🚶♂️ Let's transform Yaoundé into a safer, healthier, and fairer city by prioritizing active mobility and public transport! 🚌🌳 Co-financed by the EU and BMZ, this initiative led by GIZ is paving the way for a more sustainable future. 🌟 .Supporting the development of transport systems in Yaoundé that offer safe, sustainable and efficient mobility for women and other marginalized groups. 8th August 2024 at Hotel la Faliase . workshop on urban mobility transformation in Yaoundé, Cameroon! 🇨🇲💼 #MobilitéVerte #TUMI #UrbanMobility #SustainableTransport #Yaoundé2030 #GenderInclusion #EUfunded #GIZ #ITDP #CameroonDevelopment #GreenCities #PublicTransportation #FutureofMobility

Workshop organized by Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation . June 20th 2024. Pertinent discussions on : ✍🏾Are we in a deadlock, given that most countries in Central Africa operate a patriarchal system in which social roles are distributed by sex and decision making almost solely lies in the hands of men. ✍🏾Could the dismantling of patriarchal systems that create inequalities solve the problem according to the AU’s Declaration that crowned the 3rd Men’s conference last November 2023 in Pretoria . ✍🏾Experiences of the discriminatory practices which women go through as they strive for self-realization . ✍🏾How to address inequalities and promote inclusive political participation of women in decision making processes as well as contribution to socioeconomic development. ✍🏾While there are some very good policies and laws enshrined in the legal framework of Central African countries, implementation seems to be the soft spot in the process. Why is this so. ✍🏾How can governments build momentum to enforce the implementation of existing laws ✍🏾What can be done to amplify the voice of women, especially those in leadership positions . #EmpowerAwoman Legal Litracy for Women. Cultural Relativism Micro Feminism Emotional Intelligence