Sexual violence pervasive in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions

Women in conflict-hit Northwest and Southwest regions speak of a pervasive fear of sexual assault and violence perpetrated by armed separatists, military personnel and civilians.

Buea, Cameroon – Every day, Gladys, a 33-year-old vendor in Buea, the capital of Cameroon’s Southwest region, heads to Muea market to sell vegetables, sweets and other food items. “But only after the sun rises,” she said. “All day I worry it will be the day I am attacked by those boys [or] the military.” Gladys’s fear and anxiety are shared by many women across Cameroon’s Anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions, where an armed conflict between separatist groups and government forces has been ongoing since 2016.