Thirty GBV survivors turn pain into hope as perpetrators urged to stop making women pay for a crisis they did not create

For three days, COWOPNET-CAGEAD gave 30 survivors of conflict related gender based violence space to confront trauma, release painful memories, rebuild confidence and prepare for economic independence while calling on perpetrators to stop making women pay for a crisis they did not create.

In this flame and ashes is the pain of 30 survivors of gender based violence.

Tissue papers used to wipe tears, materials onto which frustrations had been poured and other reminders of painful experiences were gathered and burned atthe close of a three day healing process in Bamenda.

For the women who placed those materials into the flames, it was not simply the destruction of paper.

It was a symbolic attempt to let go.

The exercise brought to an emotional close a three day training that took survivors from understanding the psychological consequences of gender based violence to confronting trauma, building coping mechanisms, strengthening peer support and preparing for economic recovery.

Organised by the Community Women Peacebuilders Network, COWOPNET, a child of the Centre for Advocacy in Gender Equality and Action for Development, CAGEAD, the training brought together 30 survivors from Mezam, Momo and Boyo Divisions.

It was implemented under the project “Reinforcing Conflict Resolution Mechanisms and Strengthening Gender Based Violence Prevention and Protection of Survivors in Crisis Affected Communities of the North West Region of Cameroon”, funded by the French Development Agency, AFD, through ALVF Association.

But the most important part of the workshop was not what happened inside the training room.

It was what survivors were able to release.

The first day focused on .

Lead facilitator Nsono Josephine began by helping participants understand gender based violence, its different forms, its causes and the psychological consequences it can leave behind, particularly in crisis settings.

The sessions then moved into trauma, trauma reactions, stress management, emotional regulation, healthy coping strategies and resilience.

According to Nsono Josephine, the purpose was not to make survivors repeatedly narrate painful experiences.

It was to help them begin unloading the weight they had carried.

“I have seen women who are able to unburden. I have seen women who are ready to face a new dawn in their lives.”

She said the process required creating an environment where survivors could recognise what they had experienced without allowing those experiences to determine what comes next.

The approach also recognised that healing does not happen in exactly the same way for everyone.

Some participants needed to talk. Others needed silence. Some needed to cry.

That understanding led to one of the most striking innovations of the workshop.

Inside the training venue, a small corner was transformed into what facilitators called the .

There were floor mats, water and simple materials, alongside messages on the wall.

The largest message read “Healing Village.”

Participants were told that if the sessions became too difficult emotionally, they could quietly leave the main room and go there.

Dr Maureen Boyo, clinical psychologist, gender based violence and child protection expert, said the space became an important part of the healing process.

“Everyone who was within the session, if you had any difficult time following through because of your pain, you could go there and unburden and cry and relieve yourself.”

According to facilitators, the need for such a space became obvious as survivors began confronting experiences they had carried for months and, in some cases, years.

Maureen Boyo described the psychological burden as potentially more damaging than the visible injuries.

“The psychological problems that people carry is more than a wound. It is even a story. It can even be a lifetime.”

Through group therapy and individual support, participants were encouraged to unpack emotions associated with depression, stress, anxiety and post traumatic stress.

The workshop also sought to prevent the familiar pattern in which participants attend a training, return home and gradually lose contact with one another.

Facilitators therefore created circles of friends among the participants.

Maureen Boyo said the peer groups were intended to provide a support network after the workshop.

“They are now becoming a little bit more comfortable knowing that somebody is there who can support them as they go through this journey.”

The survivors could recreate together, think together and encourage each other beyond the training.

For Nsono Josephine, that sense of connection is important because recovery requires more than a single intervention.

The goal is to help survivors regain a sense of safety, confidence and control while connecting them with available support.

The workshop did not stop at psychosocial support.

The second and third days moved towards protection, safety planning and .

Participants explored livelihood opportunities and developed individual business plans.

The idea was to connect psychological recovery with practical independence.

Boyo said the training went beyond simply asking participants what businesses they wanted to start.

The facilitators also considered their individual strengths, personalities and abilities.

“It is one thing to have a business. But it is another one to be the master of the business.”

That distinction matters.

Economic empowerment is intended not simply to provide survivors with money, but to help them build livelihoods they can sustain.

CAGEAD CEO Andiensa Clotilda Waah said the organisation plans to support the survivors with start up capital and follow up through coaching and mentoring.

“We are not going to let them. We will follow them up, and we will coach them. We will support them. We will mentor them so that they will actually become a better version of themselves.”

According to the CEO, that is part of ensuring that the workshop produces something that survives beyond the three days.

On the final day, the healing process became symbolic.

Materials on which participants had poured their frustrations were gathered and taken to the incinerator.

They were burned.

Maureen Boyo said the intention was to make the act of letting go visible.

“As they are walking out of this place, they are going as new people to face a better future.”

The flames followed candle lighting exercise.

After unburdening, the facilitators wanted survivors to have something that represented what could come next.

“That candlelight is actually symbolising a new beginning. It is symbolising hope.

The candles were also intended to represent women who were not in the room and survivors who might never have the opportunity to attend such a programme.

Boyo said the message was that every woman deserves the opportunity to recover and regain control of her life.

“Every woman has a right to find freedom. Every woman has the right to feel whole.”

The final exercise was an affirmation.

With their eyes closed and hands placed on their chests, survivors repeated words designed to shift their attention from what had happened to them towards what they could become.

“I am calling my power back.”

“I am the architect of my future.”

“I am building a new future.”

“I am gaining resilience.”

And finally:

“I am whole.”

According to Waah Clotilda, that transformation was the most fulfilling part of the intervention.

She said the energy, songs, interaction and bonds created among the survivors suggested that some were beginning to look at themselves differently.

“We have worked for them to look at the future with a positive eye, with a positive mindset.”

She urged them not to allow their past experiences to become the definition of their future.

“What matters is not where you are coming from; it is where you are going to and how you want to get there.”

The programme reached only 30 survivors, despite a much larger demand.

CAGEAD's leader said many more women and girls were identified during the community level selection process, making it clear that the need extends far beyond the participants in the room.