DISPLACED AND VULNERABLE: THE HIDDEN REALITY OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AGAINST INTERNALLY DISPLACED WOMEN IN TIKO, CAMEROON
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17501/24246743.2025.10102Keywords:
Gender-based violence, internally displaced women, Cameroon context, displacement and migration, humanitarian crisis, violence against womenAbstract
Gender-based violence (GBV) is widespread in any environment characterized by conflict, and women and girls are the most affected. Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis which is ongoing since 2016 has triggered the displacement of many people where women and children are more vulnerable to GBV. This research examines the prevalence and forms of GBV experienced by internally displaced women (IDW) in Tiko Sub-Division and the existing response systems. Employing a concurrent triangulation design, the study collects and analyzes qualitative and quantitative data simultaneously. An electronic survey collected data from 100 IDW, while qualitative data was collected from 20 IDW, community leaders, service providers through in-depth interviews, and 5 focus group discussions. The primary research questions are: (1) What are the prevalence and forms of GBV experienced by IDW in Tiko Sub-Division? (2) What socio-cultural, economic, and environmental factors contribute to GBV against IDW? (3) What actions do IDW take in response to these challenges, and what resources exist to assist them? Theoretical frameworks include feminist theory, focusing on the power relations and inequality, and the ecological model which considers individual, relationship, community, and societal factors. Highlighted results on IDW’s experiences show disturbing levels of physical, emotional abuse, sexual violence, which armed groups and armed forces, family, and even community leaders often perpetrate. The study also finds the feminization of poverty phenomenon persisting among IDW in terms of their physical, psychological, social as well as economic conditions. This study is important in that it addresses the critical issue of GBV in Cameroon's conflict context (with Tiko acting as a host community to many IDPs), contributing to enhanced understanding of GBV dynamics, inform policy development, improve support services, empirical evidence for future research and promote the SDG 5 in Cameroon in achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls
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Copyright (c) 2026 Che N. Julien, Prof. Yenshu V. Emmanuel, Dr. Abonge V. Christiana
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