2000 people enlist to end violence against women

Some 2000 people comprising men, women and youths groomed on breaking the chain of sexual violence against the women folk have gave their barking to step up efforts aimed at bringing perpetrators of the crime to book.

The information was made public by the executive director of the civil society group, Organisation for Gender Civic Engagement and Youth Development (OGCEYO) Elvis Wepngong in Kumba Thursday December 18,2014 during the third lap of a series of training workshops focused on eliminating sexual violence against women.

Speaking on the campus of the Cameroon College of art and science CCAS Kumba during a workshop and competition grouping hundreds of students from schools across the metropolis, Wepngong stated that, the ongoing campaign to break the chain of silence against sexual violence targets some 2400 persons.

He explained that, those trained have been tagged “Junior Activists” given that, they are expected to return to their various groups, schools and professions and diffuse the message that sexual violence is punishable by law.

Wepngong explained that, very often people complain of different forms of sexual violence without knowing that there are institutions and laws put in place to sanction such acts. He furthered that, with such trainings, stereotypes such as husbands beating their wives in the name of love will be arrested to build a better future for the young generation.

According to justice Vera Ngassa, nobody chooses to be a victim of sexual violence. she averred that, there is need for concerted efforts from all strata of society to end all forms of sexual violence against women.

Ngassa pointed out different forms of sexual violence such as ritual rape commonly perpetrated by ministers of religion and herbalist, rape, widowhood cleansing and forced marriages as being punishable by the criminal procedure code with jail terms ranging from 10 to 25 years in prison.

The justice remarked that, sexual violence is unspeakable at the level of homes reason why the campaign is bent on causing people to speak out so that, the cycle of continuous silence is brought to an end.

Statistics presented at the competition by Susan Faithful Ayuk an official of the ministry of women empowerment and the family indicates that over 600 women are victims of rape each year. Ayuk exclaimed that, the only solution to the issue of sexual is that it has to be stopped completely.

One of the Junior activists RaphaAyuk told The Post that, he had deepened his knowledge on different forms of sexual violence which people take for granted.

The student activist explained that he now knows that things such as cyber pornography and obscene publications fall in the category of acts of sexual violence which he will educate his peers about the penalties and consequences involved.

Another activist Virtuous Ayuk stated that, her major preoccupation will be to arrest the difficulties involved in ending sexual violence such as fear, stigma and ignorance.