Comparison of the Frequency of Domestic Violence among Couples in Cameroon and Some Sub-Saharan African Countries
Presented at PAA2014
By Dr Teke Johnson Takwa
Central Bureau for Censuses and Population Studies, BUCREP,
P.O.Box 1232 Yaounde-Cameroon
Email: [email protected]
Violence against women is an age-old societal ill whose intensity varies even among the countries with approximately the same levels of socio-economic development. The statistics on this ill taken from DHS taken around the same period for some Sub-Saharan countries demonstrate this fact.
Figure 1 (a) Proportion (%) of Women who Have Been Victims of Physical Violence During Pregnancy Uganda 2011
Cameroon 2011
Tanzania 2010
Sao Tome and Principe 2009
Malawi 2010
Ghana 2008
Nigeria 2008
Zimbabwe 2011
Burkina Faso 2010
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Figure 1 (b Proportion(%) of Women who Have Been Victims of Physical Violence During Pregnancy by Rural-Urban Residence Burkina Faso 2010
Cameroon 2011
Ghana 2008
Malawi 2010
Nigeria 2008 Urban Rural Sao Tome and Principe 2009
Tanzania 2010
Uganda 2011
Zimbabwe 2011
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Figure 2 (a) Proportion(%) of Women who had Victims of Sexual Violence
Cameroon 2011
Ghana 2008
Kenya 2009
Malawi 2010
Nigeria 2008
Rwanda 2010
Sao Tome and Principe 2009
Uganda 2011
Tanzania 2010
Zimbabwe 2011
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Figure 2(b) Proportion(%) of Women who had Victims of Sexual Violence by Rural-Urban Residence 35
30
25
20
15
10 Rural 5 Urban
0
3 (a) Proportion (%) of Women 15-49 Who Had Undergone Physical Violence since the Age 15
Uganda 2011 Cameroon 2011 Rwanda 2010 Kenya 2009 Ghana 2008 Sao et Principe 2009 Zimbabwe 2013 Malawi 2010 Nigeria 2008 Burkina Faso 2010
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
3 (b) Proportion (%) of Women 15-49 Who Had Undergone Physical Violence Since the Age 15 by Rural-Urban Residence Burkina Faso 2010
Cameroon 2011
Ghana 2008
Kenya 2009
Malawi 2010
Nigeria 2008 Urban
Rwanda 2010 Rural
Sao Tome and Principe 2009
Uganda 2011
Tanzania 2010
Zimbabwe 2011
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
4 (a) Proportion of Women Who Had Been Victims of Physical Assault from their Husbands/Partners
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
4 (b) Proportion of Women Who Had Been Victims of Physical Assault from Husbands/Partners by Rural-Urban Residence
60
50
40
30
20 Rural 10 Urban
0
CONCLUSION
The frequency of many forms of violent acts against women in Cameroon is higher than for many other sub-Saharan countries covered by this study. It is equally high for Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. In Cameroon and these countries, much still has to be done in order to bring down the occurrence of violent these acts. Even in countries with comparatively low frequency rates of violence against CONCLUSION
The frequency of many forms of violent acts against women in Cameroon is higher than for many other sub-Saharan countries covered by this study. It is equally high for Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. In Cameroon and these countries, much still has to be done in order to bring down the occurrence of violent acts against women. Even in countries with comparatively low frequency rates of violence against women, efforts towards ZERO OCUURRENCE of such acts that cause psychological and physical harm to the woman and directly their born and unborn children must be continue.