Events

The IAWRT Cameroon Chapter is hosting a Regional Meeting on 25-29 November 2010 coinciding with the beginning of the 16 days of activism celebration. This will be held at Djeuga Palace Hotel located at Avenue Narvick, BP 2659 Yaounde, Cameroun 

Tentative Program 
November 25: Arrival of International Participants 
November 26: Regional Meeting
November 27:
•  Screening of 5 Selected Documentaries from the 2009 and 2010 Series
•   Meeting with the Chapter Heads and Reporting
November 28:  
•   City Tour 
•    Board Meeting  
November 29: Departure of Participants
December 2-4: Travel to FGM sites and Project Meetings

The Cameroon chapter hosted the IAWRT regional meeting from 26-28 November 2010 in Yaoundé— the nation’s Capital. The theme centered on Media and Violence Against Women.

Gender Based Violence constitutes not only a gross violation of human rights but also has enormous social and economic costs that undercut the contribution of women to development, peace and security. Violence against women equally poses a serious threat to the achievement of internationally agreed goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Considered a pandemic because of its widespread nature, even though it is most of the time sanctioned by some traditions and reinforced by societal institutions, violence against women is covered by media with some sort of superficial and trivial interest.

According to some reports, violence against women gets far less media coverage than other human rights violations due to the following reasons:

·      Domestic violence and other forms of violence against women remain largely hidden;

·      Stories on violence against women tend to be reported as summaries in crime round-ups, not as features;

·      Women still tend to be portrayed as victims;

·      Women are continually represented as passive and in need of protection;

·      Journalists rarely follow up on cases of violence against women.

It is against this backdrop that the international board of the IAWRT approved the theme ‘Media and Violence Against Women’, for the Cameroon Regional meeting which held in Yaoundé from the 26 to the 28 of November 2010.

Discussions during the conclave centered on strategies for the media to stand in the gap and denounce all forms of violence against women and effectively engage in the promotion and protection of women’s rights.

Peculiar to this meeting was the inadvertent timing to coincide with the 16 Days of Activism to end Violence Against Women (25 November to 10 December every year). This provided the opportunity for IAWRT members to take part in the official launch of activities by the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family and also participate in a televised show on the Cameroon national television network. Those were exciting moments that were also spiced by a visit by the international board to the General Manager of CRTV who promised to collaborate closely with IAWRT.