The three day training for 30 survivors of conflict related gender based violence has ended in Bamenda, but for the visioon bearer of COWOPNET and CAGEAD CEO Andiensa Clotilda Waah, the work is far from over. In this closing interview with Hilltopvoices, Clotilda Waah reflects on the experiences of survivors, the scale of conflict related GBV in the North West, the gaps in protection and support services, and why healing must be followed by sustained economic recovery. She also calls for greater government action, stronger local financing and continued support from development partners.
ACW: I feel very fulfilled because we have achieved an important part of our objective. We identified survivors of conflict related gender based violence and brought them together in a safe environment where they could begin addressing some of the trauma they have been carrying.
For three days, we worked with them to find ways of reducing that trauma, preventing further harm and helping them look towards the future with a more positive mindset.
One of the most important messages we gave them was that what happened to them should not define who they become. We wanted them to begin seeing themselves beyond their experiences of violence.
The energy we saw, the songs they developed, the way they shared their experiences and the bonds they formed with one another showed that something was changing. They were beginning to heal.
We also moved beyond psychosocial support. They developed specific business plans and we will support them with start up capital. Our responsibility does not end with this workshop. We intend to follow them up, coach them and mentor them so that they can become more self reliant and rebuild their lives.
Hilltopvoices: You had only 30 spaces, yet the demand was much higher. How difficult was it to identify the survivors who needed the intervention most?
ACW: The demand was extremely high. One of the challenges was that people sometimes confuse gender based violence generally with conflict related gender based violence.
We were specifically looking for women and girls who had experienced gender based violence linked to the conflict. Through our Community Peace Ambassadors and community peace clubs, we identified many people who wanted to participate.
In each of the three project areas, we had far more potential beneficiaries than the programme could accommodate. We eventually had to select those whose experiences and trauma indicated a particularly urgent need for this type of intervention.
The 30 participants represent only a fraction of the survivors who need support. We hope to continue identifying survivors in the communities and finding ways of reaching them.
Hilltopvoices: Having worked around the crisis for years, what does the experience of these survivors tell you about the situation of conflict related GBV in the North West?
ACW: What we are seeing in the North West is very serious, and there are similarities with what is happening in the South West.
Gender based violence existed before the conflict, but the conflict has exacerbated it. Women and girls have become particularly vulnerable because of displacement, insecurity and economic hardship.
The age profile of the survivors we worked with reflects this vulnerability. Many are young women who are active in their communities but are exposed to exploitation by different actors, including landlords, host communities and armed actors on different sides of the conflict.
Another major concern is the gap between the rights that survivors are supposed to enjoy and the protection they actually receive.
From the stories shared during this training, it became clear that many survivors did not receive the protection and services they needed after experiencing violence.
Cameroon has signed and ratified instruments that provide for the protection of women and girls. The challenge is translating those commitments into accessible services at community level.
That is why I am calling on the government to strengthen mechanisms for responding to survivors of gender based violence.
There are organisations doing important work, including UNFPA and other partners, and we commend those efforts. But many programmes are dependent on short term project funding. A six month or one year project cannot match a problem that continues for as long as the crisis remains unresolved.
Hilltopvoices: During the closing session, you encouraged survivors to look forward rather than remain trapped by what happened to them. What inspired that message?
ACW: You should only keep looking behind if what is behind you is good. If what is behind you is a dark and painful past, constantly looking back can hold you back.
These survivors have experienced things they never asked for. They were humiliated, discriminated against, violated and traumatised. We cannot allow those experiences to become the definition of their future.
What matters now is where they are going and how they want to get there.
They have met other survivors here who have shared their experiences and encouraged them. They have realised that they are not alone.
So my message to them is simple: move forward with a positive spirit, take positive actions and remain accountable for the future you want to build.
Hilltopvoices: What kind of support is needed to ensure this intervention does not end when the workshop ends?
ACW: Sustained support is critical.
I want to appreciate ALVF Association for the Fight Against Gender Based Violence and its partners for supporting this intervention. The project is part of a wider regional initiative supported by the French Government.
If we had partners willing to sustain this kind of work over five or ten years, the impact would be significant.
These 30 survivors will not remain beneficiaries. They can become agents of change. If each of them goes back and sensitises even five to ten people, we begin creating a much larger community network for prevention and protection.
Protection starts with awareness. People need to know what constitutes gender based violence, how to prevent it, where to seek help and how to support survivors without causing further harm.
Hilltopvoices: Beyond international partners, what role can local institutions play in sustaining the response?
ACW: Our local councils have a very important role to play.
Gender based violence should be incorporated into local gender policies and local development plans, with actual budget allocations attached to it.
If every council in the North West and South West set aside even a modest annual budget for preventing and responding to gender based violence, the cumulative impact would be significant.
We should not always wait for funding from outside the country before responding to problems affecting our own communities.
Councils, regional institutions, ministries and other local authorities can all contribute.
The private sector also has a role. Companies such as MTN, Orange, Guinness, Brasseries du Cameroun and other businesses operating in our communities can support GBV prevention and survivor protection through their corporate social responsibility programmes.
Civil society organisations have the expertise. We understand the communities, we know how to work with women and girls, and we have the structures to reach people. What we often lack are the resources to sustain the work.
Hilltopvoices: Finally, what is your message to those responsible for violence against women and girls in the context of the crisis?
ACW:Women and girls are not the cause of this crisis. They did not create the conflict and they should not become its targets.
Whatever the grievance, whatever the political position or whichever side someone belongs to, violence against women and girls cannot be justified.
Women are essential to every community. They raise families, cultivate farms, run businesses and sustain communities through difficult times.
If we want communities to recover and rebuild, women and girls must be allowed to live, work and participate without fear.
The conflict must not destroy their future.
Hilltopvoices: Thank you very much.
ACW: Thank you.
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