Citation

Chishugi J, Franke T. J. Child Sex. Abus. 2016; 25(6): 619-626.

Affiliation

Department of Medicine , Buea Seventh-day Adventist Health Centre , Buea , Cameroon.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10538712.2016.1194355

PMID

27561118

Abstract

A young girl was brought to the emergency unit after suffering sexual abuse by an older male. Additional abuses against women and girls include physical beating, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, breast ironing, widow's rites, psychological abuse, and discrimination in education, finance, employment, and legal access. Cameroon has adopted strategies aimed at eliminating violence against women, including ratification of international policies, penal codes, and support of local and international efforts that promote women; however, many of the laws remain in name only and are rarely enforced, given women's lack of financial access to quality lawyers and an unsympathetic male-dominated police force. Underreporting and culturally accepted abuses remain a challenge, too, as the country seeks to understand the extent of abuses and how to effectively fight against them. A complete paradigm shift in cultural attitude toward the female gender is required for abuses to cease.

Language: en