On April 27, 2023, the Cameroon Young Jurists Legal Resource Center (CYJULERC) held an advocacy workshop in Yaounde to lobby for the application of national and international laws to promote sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for conflict-affected and internally displaced women and girls. The workshop brought together judiciary and health workers, judicial police officers, social workers, and civil society leaders from the Centre and Littoral regions of Cameroon.
The workshop focused on the following key issues:
1.The need to ensure that women and girls have access to safe abortion care in public health facilities.
2.The need to address the stigma and discrimination that women and girls face when accessing SRHR services.
3.The need to strengthen the capacity of health workers and other service providers to provide quality SRHR services to women and girls.
The workshop was a success, and the participants made a number of recommendations, including the creation of a task force to monitor and promote networking amongst actors to ensure that survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) have access to safe abortion care in public health facilities.
The task force will be composed of representatives from the judiciary, health sector, civil society, and other relevant stakeholders. The task force will be responsible for:
1.Monitoring the implementation of national and international laws on SRHR.
2.Promoting networking amongst actors to ensure that women and girls have access to SRHR services.
3.Advocating for the removal of barriers to accessing SRHR services.
The creation of the task force is a significant step forward in the fight to promote SRHR for conflict-affected and internally displaced women and girls in Cameroon. The task force will play a vital role in ensuring that women and girls have access to the services they need to protect their health and well-being.
The Importance of SRHR for Conflict-Affected Women and Girls
SRHR is essential for the health and well-being of all women and girls, but it is especially important for women and girls who have been affected by conflict. Conflict can disrupt access to SRHR services, and it can also increase the risk of SGBV. As a result, women and girls who have been affected by conflict are more likely to experience unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and other reproductive health problems.
Access to safe abortion care is particularly important for women and girls who have been raped or who have become pregnant as a result of incest. In Cameroon, abortion is illegal in most cases, but there are exceptions for cases of rape, incest, and when the life of the woman is in danger. However, even in these cases, women and girls often face barriers to accessing safe abortion care.
The task force that was created at the CYJULERC workshop will play a vital role in ensuring that women and girls who have been affected by conflict have access to safe abortion care. The task force will work to monitor the implementation of national and international laws on SRHR, and it will promote networking amongst actors to ensure that women and girls have access to the services they need.
The work of the task force is essential to protecting the health and well-being of women and girls in Cameroon. With the support of the task force, women and girls who have been affected by conflict will be able to access the SRHR services they need to live healthy and fulfilling lives.
