Abused men remain a taboo phenomenon in Cameroon. And talking about a group of men who were subjected to gender-based violence leave many sceptical. However, there really is an association of abused men.

This is the Cameroonian Centre for the Fight against Violence on Men (CCLVH - Centre camerounais de lutte contre les violences faites aux hommes), whose headquarters are in Yaoundé. Gabriel Ekaa Owona, President of this association of people from the stronger sex who became weaker, is very expansive. “Our goal is to unite men and boys who have fallen victim to all kinds of abuse: verbal, physical, psychological, sexual”, he repeats.

To be more precise, Mr Ekaa points out that there are men who are subjected to shouting arguments night and day without being able to put in a word. Some are also forced by emasculating women: only to satisfy their sexual need(s). “On the other hand, as highlighted by the fifty year old man, there are women who go on strike and refuse all sexual relations with their spouse. This is also a serious abuse!”. And in the year since the creation of the association, its roughly “4,000 members” are campaigning for the legal adoption of a “polygamy code”.

Indeed according to Gabriel Ekaa Owona, “monogamy leads to all sorts of downward spirals. Actually, he continues, it is not African.” This plea will help, we learned from Mr Ekaa, to build a “non violent society” where men would be given back their (full) rights. And to remove the problem totally, the abused men centre is also interested in boys who have fallen victim to all sorts of abuse; as “they are the men of the future”. Let us pray that these demands will not lead to the mother of all beatings...

M.N.M.