For more than a decade, Cameroon’s government had publicly committed to halving violence against women by 2026, an ambitious and necessary goal in a country where women face widespread violence including physical, economic, psychological and emotional violence, both within the home and in public life, most often perpetrated by husbands, intimate partners, and male relatives. These abuses are not isolated incidents but are rooted in entrenched gender inequality, discriminatory laws, weak institutions, and exacerbated by chronic underinvestment in prevention and survivor support. Despite repeated commitments since 2011, the government has taken few concrete steps toward meeting its stated target. Midway through 2026, the government has blatantly failed to meet its commitments, leaving women exposed to harm and survivors without meaningful protection or access to justice.

The violence women in Cameroon face is structural, with a systemic impact closely linked to women’s limited control over land, housing, income, and other economic resources. The legal framework governing family relations reinforces male dominance by designating husbands as heads of household and primary managers of matrimonial property. These provisions weaken women’s decision-making power over residence, employment, and immovable property during marriage and after its dissolution. Although a draft Family Code that could address some of these inequalities has existed for more than 20 years, the government—which has been governed by the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, under Paul Biya, as President, for the entire duration—has failed to adopt it. This prolonged inaction reflects a broader lack of political will to challenge discriminatory norms and reform laws that enable men’s violence and economic control over women within the Cameroonian society.

At the same time, Cameroon lacks a comprehensive policy or national guidelines on domestic violence. The absence of a coordinated, well-resourced response has left police, judicial officials, health providers, and social workers ill-equipped to prevent abuse, protect survivors, or hold perpetrators accountable. Women who attempt to seek help often encounter dismissive attitudes, pressure to reconcile with abusers, or outright obstruction. Harmful social norms that normalise male authority and justify violence further entrench these institutional failures, creating an environment in which perpetrators act with near impunity.

This report documents the many ways in which structural discrimination is weaponised to commit violence against women, including acts of economic violence—controlling or coercive acts, or behaviour or practices that cause economic harm or deprivation—through research conducted between September and December 2024, in Maroua in the Far North region, Douala in the Littoral region, and Buea in the South West region. These locations were selected to reflect Cameroon’s demographic, religious, and legal diversity, as well as the harms produced by under-resourced public services, and ongoing insecurity in parts of the country. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 60 women who experienced physical, psychological, and economic violence, as well as discussions with government officials responsible for social service delivery and religious leaders. The testimonies reveal consistent patterns of abuse and systemic barriers that give rise to violations of women’s rights to bodily integrity, health, equality and nondiscrimination, property, and an adequate standard of living.

Report by the Human Rights Watch