MEASURING THE SHADOW PANDEMIC:

VIOLENCE AGAINSTWOMEN DURING
Cameroon
COUNTRY REPORT: CAMEROONEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
While nearly half of women in Cameroon haveexperienced challenges with safety both inside
the home and out in the community, the majority tend not to find that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted their experience of violence. Women who were divorced,
living in rural areas, or with children were generally more likely to report that the pandemic
has made their circumstances worse. Congruently, the downstream impacts of COVID-19
vary in type and severity, based on pre-existing
factors, including socioeconomic status andvulnerability to other stressors. This researchdelves into the relationships between measures of violence against women (VAW) andthe demographic, behavioural and socioeconomic factors related to them.

This study found that women’s feelings ofsafety in Cameroon are lacking, both within
and outside of their households, and womenare experiencing significant negative impacts
on their mental and emotional well-being.
Among the drivers of these feelings, external
stressors such as food insecurity and family
relations stand out as having a significant impact not only on experiences of safety but also
on women’s well-being overall. Additionally,
although women may not link their feelings orexperiences of safety directly to the COVID-19
pandemic, those who reported feeling moreunsafe tend to have changed their behaviours
more in response to the pandemic, including by reducing their social interactions andmovements.

2

1. INTRODUCTION
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cameroon’s
Institut National de la Statistique found that
51% of women aged 15–49 have experienced
physical violence and/or sexual violence froman intimate partner at least once in their
lifetime,1 which is nearly double the global estimated average of 27%.2
Since the pandemic began, rapid assessments
conducted by UN Women using administrative
data from police, VAW hotlines and other service-providers suggest an increase in reported
cases of violence against women and girls.
Measures implemented to limit the spread of
the pandemic, such as lockdowns and curfews,
have an impact on VAW risk factors, especiallyfor women and girls who face multiple formsof discrimination.
Within this context, UN Women commissioned
Ipsos to conduct a rapid gender assessment
survey on the impact of COVID-19 on women’swell-being and safety in 13 countries across regions. In adapting the surveying methodology
to be feasible in the COVID-19 context, proxymeasures on experiences of VAW were used tocollect data on sensitive topics to reduce the1

2

Proportion of ever-partnered women aged 15–49 years experiencing intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence
at least once in their lifetime. Source: Institut National dela Statistique (INS) and ICF International. 2012. Enquête
Démographique et de Santé et à Indicateurs Multiples duCameroun 2011. Calverton.
World Health Organization. N.D. Global Database on
Violence Against Women.

risk to the respondents, and thus may not bedirectly comparable to other studies conducted before the pandemic.
Having reliable data that are collected in linewith methodological, safety and ethical standards, without putting women at greater
distress and risk of violence, is critical to informing where policies and programmes can
respond to the UN’s system-wide efforts toscale up actions to address VAW in the context
of COVID-19.
This report details the findings of the survey
conducted in Cameroon from April to May
2021, with women aged 18 and older who hadaccess to a mobile phone. The population ofmobile-phone-owners in Cameroon is estimated to be at par between men and women
but may be more concentrated in urban thanin rural areas.3
It should also be noted that some questions
elicited a noticeable percentage of “don’tknow” responses from the interviewees, andwhile it was not possible to ascribe the different responses or intentions of the interviewees who chose this response, it is important tokeep this in mind while analysing the data.

3

Kemp, Simon. 2021. “Digital 2021: Cameroon. Digital Report.”
Data Reportal. 11 April; Telecom Paper. 2016. “Cameroon’s
mobile penetration hits 80%.” 12 February.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19

3

KEY FINDINGS
37%
of women said
that they or other
women they know
have experienced aform of violence

20%

19%

17%

Verbal Abuse

SexualHarassment

Physical Abuse

26%

23%

of women feel unsafe intheir homes.

said this has gotten worse as a resultof the COVID-19 pandemic.

27%

16%

of women live in households withconflict among adults at least weekly.

said conflict between adults has
become more frequent as a result of
the COVID-19 pandemic.

35%
of women think that the experience of
verbal or physical abuse at the hands ofa partner is common for women in theircommunity.

38%
said this has gotten worse as a resultof the COVID-19 pandemic.

43%

15%

of women think that physical harm,abuse and harassment are a problem
for women in their community.

of women think physical harm, abuse,and harassment has gotten worse since
the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

43% walking alone at night.
of women feel unsafe

32% walking alone during the day.
of women feel unsafe

37%
of women think that it iscommon for women to
be harassed in public.

4

2. PERCEPTIONS OF VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMEN
2.1. Perceptions of violence against
women in the community
When asked about physical harm, abuse andharassment in their community, over 4 in 10(43%) women said they believe it is a problem
and an additional 33% said it was “a little bit”
of a problem.

Physical harm, abuse and harassment in thecommunity were more likely to be perceived
as a problem by women who: earn an income,are heads of their household, had a decrease
in income since the start of the pandemic, andby those who experienced frequent conflict or
felt unsafe in their homes.

FIGURE 1

Extent to which violence, abuse or harassment is a problem in their community

All women

16%

Among those who
felt unsafe walking
around alone

19%

Among those
who felt unsafe
in their home

21%

Among those who
experienced frequenthousehold conflict atleast weekly

27%

33%

36%

37%

28%

A lot

15%

32%

9% 5%

29%

11% 2%

41%

Somewhat

9%22%

A little bit

6% 2%

Not at all

Note: “Don’t know”, in the grey bars comprised 3% or less of total responses in each category

About one in six women (15%) said physicalharm, abuse and harassment have increasedin their community since the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic. However, those who felt
unsafe or lived in households with frequent

conflict were more likely to report that harm,abuse and harassment have worsened as a result of the pandemic, indicating that COVID-19
may have exacerbated current conditions.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19

5

2.2. Proxy measures of violenceagainst women in the community

on women’s perceptions of safety and wellbeing.

When considering ways of measuring violenceagainst women at the community level, it isimportant to keep in mind the context of thestudy. Due to the remote nature of this survey,
indirect questions were asked as proxy indicators of VAW, meaning it is not possible to distinguish respondent experiences from thoseof other women in their community or toknow whether this experience occurred withinor outside of the household. Therefore, whiledata from this study should not be interpreted
as prevalence data, it nevertheless provides
critical information on the impact of COVID-19

Women were asked whether they or any woman they knew had experienced different forms
of VAW, such as physical harm, denial of basic
needs, sexual harassment, restrictions or verbal abuse. While one in five women reported
experiences (theirs or others’) with specifictypes of abuse, nearly 4 in 10 women reported
experiences any type of violence. Experiencesof verbal abuse were more reported among
women who feel unsafe when out in theircommunity at night, those who feel unsafe
in their homes and those who experienced
frequent household conflict.

FIGURE 2

Percentage of women who reported experiencing or knowing someone who has experienceddifferent types of violence, by their feelings of safety
20%

Been yelled at,called names, humiliated

28%
40%

Been the subject of inappropriate
jokes, suggestive comments,
leering, or unwelcome
touching/kissing

19%
27%
37%

Had resources, like healthcare,or basic needs (like money, food,water, shelter, denied18%

Had been slapped, kicked,
had things thrown at them,or other physical harm

17%

Been forced to stay alone for long
periods of time or denied
communication with others

16%

Among women who felt
unsafe at homeAmong women who felt unsafe
walking alone

24%
31%

25%
33%

24%
28%

Women who reported that they or someone
they knew had been subjected to VAW weremore likely to be food insecure (55–59%),
compared to women who did not (34–36%),

All women

indicating that structural and economic factors could be a significant driver of violenceagainst women.

63. SAFETY IN THE
PUBLIC SPHERE
3.1. Personal safety in the
public sphere
When out in their communities, one third of
women said they feel unsafe walking aroundthe areas where they live during the day (32%),
and 4 in 10 women reported feeling unsafe
when asked the same question about walking alone at night (40%). One in five (21%) said
they feel less safe while out at night since thestart of COVID-19. Within the country, mostdomestic travel has been open since May 2020and businesses are operating with mask requirements and capacity restrictions.

Experiences of safety in the public sphere also
differed by marital status, with divorced women more likely to say they feel unsafe during
the day or at night than married or partnered
women, who in turn are more likely to say they
feel unsafe than single women. Additionally,
women who headed their households on theirown (55%) or jointly with a partner (60%) weremore likely to say they feel safe walking alone
at night than women whose husbands are thehead of the household (41%). Women whose
husbands are the head of the household werealso more likely to feel that the pandemic
had made them less safe (26%) than other
women, particularly those in jointly headedhouseholds (13%).

FIGURE 3

Perceptions of safety while out in public, by marital status
Felt unsafe walking
alone during the day

Felt unsafe walking
alone at night

54%

56%

39%

Felt less safe since theonset of COVID-19

44%

32%

29%

26%
19%

SingleMarried/ Divorced/
Partnered Separated

SingleMarried/ Divorced/
Partnered Separated

Single22%

Married/ Divorced/
Partnered Separated

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19

7

It is notable that, even when considering demographic factors, the impact of COVID-19 on
women’s perceptions of safety in Cameroon ismore limited than in other contexts, perhaps
reflective of the pre-existing conditions of unrest and safety concerns in the country.

3.2. Women’s perceived safety inthe public sphereof safety for other women in their community.
More than one-third (37%) of women said it iscommon for women to experience harassment
and safety issues in public at night, consistent
with 43% of women who themselves reported
feeling unsafe at night. Similar to other areas,
one in three women said that the pandemic
had worsened women’s experiences of harassment when alone at night (31%).

Women’s perceptions of their own personalsafety were consistent with their perceptions
FIGURE 4

Percentage of women who felt unsafe, by their perceptions of safety in their communities
Felt unsafe walking
alone during the day

Felt unsafe walking
alone at night

Felt less safe since theonset of COVID-19

49%
37%
29%
24%

21%

16%

Yes

No

Thought harm/abuse/harassment is a problem

Yes

No

Thought harm/abuse/harassment is a problem

Women who reported generating an income
for their household were particularly likely toreport feeling unsafe walking alone, perhaps
related to the fact that they are more likely to
be in public spaces.
The majority of women (81%) expected thatwomen experiencing harassment or abuse in
the public sphere would seek help, and one inthree (36%) said that they expected women
would go to the police.
While more than one third (37%) of women
only rarely saw friends or their social groups
during the pandemic, other data suggest a

Yes

No

Thought harm/abuse/harassment is a problem

more complicated relationship in terms of
how they interact with their communities.
The majority of women (88%) said that they
still leave their house at least once a week, but
only 21% saw their friends and social groups
with the usual frequency. While it is difficult
to disentangle the effects of pandemic movement restrictions and reductions in seeingor speaking to members of social circles, it
should be noted that information around socialization may present an avenue by which to
improve women’s agency and increase theirempowerment.

8

4. SAFETY INSIDE THE HOME
4.1. Personal safety inside the home
Regarding safety within the household, 27%of women said that there had been conflict
between adults in their household at least
weekly over the past six months, and 16% said
this had become more frequent as a result of
the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, women inrural areas were much more likely to reporthousehold conflict at least weekly (38%) than
women in urban areas (21%). Those who experienced conflict frequently were more than
five times more likely than women in households with infrequent conflict to say that thefrequency of conflict had increased as a resultof the pandemic, suggesting that already existing household tensions have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

FIGURE 5

Changes in household conflict as a result of COVID-19

All womenAmong women fromhouseholds withfrequent conflict
between adults

Among women fromhouseholds with5%
infrequent conflict
between adults

16%

46%

38%

29%

41%

50%

More frequent

9%

17%

33%

About the same

5%

12%

Less frequent

Note: “Don’t know”, in the grey bars comprised 3% or less of total responses in each category

One in four women (26%) said they had felt unsafe in their household in the last six months,
and 23% of women said that the COVID-19
pandemic had made things worse in termsof their feelings of safety in their household.

Women who experienced frequent conflict (atleast weekly) between adults in their household were more than twice as likely to have felt
unsafe in their homes, compared to women
who experienced infrequent conflict.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19

9

FIGURE 6

Frequency of household conflict by safety in the home

All womenAmong women who
felt unsafe at homeAmong women who
felt safe at home

Daily

15%

13%

21%

12%

14%

26%

8%

11%

WeeklyWomen who felt unsafe in their homes weremore likely than others to be moderately foodinsecure, to generate an income, and to live inrural areas – suggesting that household geography and dynamics both have an impact on
women’s risk inside their homes.
When the 26% of women who felt unsafe intheir homes were asked why, they cited verbal (48%) and physical abuse (30%) as well as

38%

23%

44%

Monthly

Once or twice

19%

22%

6%

23%

Never

issues around trust (31%) as the main drivers.
Women who said they were income-earners
were much more likely than non-income earners to cite verbal abuse as a reason why theyfelt unsafe (51%). When it came to physicalabuse, employed women and women in jointly
headed households were those most likely tocite this as a reason they felt unsafe (36% and44%, respectively).

10

FIGURE 7

Reasons for women feeling unsafe in their homes, among the 26% who reported feeling unsafe
There was verbal abuse in my household

50%

I was living with people I could not trust

31%

There was physical violence in my household

30%

I was unable to communicate/reach out for help

25%

Other adults in the household hard hurt me25%

I had a serious medical condition or disability and felt vulnerable

24%

Children in the household had been hurt

23%

There was substance abuse (e.g., alcohol or drugs) in the household

22%

My shelter was insecure (e.g., there are no locks)

20%

Other adults in the household had been hurt

19%

Another reason

3%

Indicates reasons most closely tied to violence

4.2. Women’s perceived safetyinside the home
When considering the broader community,
35% of women said they think the experienceof verbal or physical abuse at the hands of apartner is common for women. This proportion was higher among women who perceived
violence, abuse or harassment to be a problem
in their community (42%).
This figure is much higher than the indirect
prevalence estimates (please refer to Figure 2)of either verbal (20%) or physical abuse (17%),
suggesting that there may be a disconnect between women’s perceptions of abuse within
their own social circles and their perceptionsof abuse in the greater community. This is also
true when looking at the impact of COVID-19,
where 38% of women said they think the experience of verbal or physical abuse at thehands of a partner has become more common
for women since the start of the pandemic,
compared to 23% of women who said theirown safety at home has suffered due to thepandemic (23%).

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19

11

FIGURE 8

Perception of partner abuse

All women

6%

Among women who
thought violence, abuse, orharassment is a problem
in their community

8%

Among women who
had felt unsafe intheir home

11%

Very common

29%

28%

33%

19%

30%

42%

Common14%

27%

Uncommon

18%

14%

15%

5%

Very uncommon

Note: “Don’t know”, in the grey bars comprised 3% or less of total responses in each category

Women who said it was common for women
to experience violence at the hands of a partner
were more likely to be food insecure, whether
that was ‘moderately’ or ‘severely’ combined(44%) or ‘severely’ in particular (22%), relative
to women who thought it was very uncommon (24% and 11%, respectively). Additionally,
women who reported feeling unsafe in theirown home were much more likely to think that
abuse at the hands of a partner is common for
women (54%), as were women that live in rural
areas (41% compared to 32% in urban areas) as
well as women who said that they or another
woman they know had experienced any typeof violence.

12

FIGURE 9

Percentage of respondents who reported knowing of or experiencing different types ofviolence, by whether they thought violence at the hands of a partner is common

31%

30%
27%

24%

23%
18%

17%

Physical abuse

Verbal abuse

15%

Resource restriction

15%

Forced isolation

17%

Sexual harassment

Thought violence at the hands of a partner is common
Did not think violence at the hands of a partner is common

These data points suggest that women may
be including their own experiences whenreporting on the experiences of women in
their community, as well as bolstering the evidence-based theory that women who reportabuse happening within their homes are more
likely to think that abuse is common in thecommunity overall.

seek help if they experienced verbal or physicalabuse at the hands of a partner. However, thesources of support differed, with only 7% of respondents expecting women to go to the police, and 43% saying women would seek support from family. This indicates that domestic
violence may be vastly underreported to authorities in comparison to other forms of VAW.

When compared to experiences of violenceoutside the home, a majority of respondents(65%) said they believe that women would

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19

13

5. IMPACTS OF VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMEN
The study indicates strong relationships between measures of VAW and changes in women’s behaviour and their feelings of mental
and emotional well-being.
Impressions and experience of safety (or lackthereof) appear to be a driver of women’s ability to handle personal problems in their life, as

well as their mental and emotional well-being.
Women who said they felt unsafe, whether
it was in their home or in the public sphere,
were more likely to report that the COVID-19
pandemic had exacerbated challenges totheir well-being or to say that the COVID-19
pandemic has had a negative impact on theirmental and emotional health more generally.

FIGURE 10

Measures of mental health by feelings of safety in the home and the public sphere

COVID-19 has
made mental andemotional healthchallenges worse

36%
42%
36%
44%

53%

COVID-19 has had
negative or mixed
mental/emotional
health effects

All women

Knew of experience of violence

Women who said that COVID-19 has had negative impacts on their mental health were also
more likely to be food insecure compared tothose who said the pandemic has had positive impacts. This suggests, as previous reports have found, that the negative impacts of
COVID-19 are felt the strongest by those already experiencing hardship.

69%
63%
61%

Felt unsafe at home

Felt unsafe walking alone

Violence against women in both public andprivate spheres is also observed when analysing women’s socialization and movement
patterns. There were strong connections between the frequency of movement outside thehome and women’s perceptions of their own
safety or of the safety in the community moregenerally.

14

Women who felt unsafe in their homes, lived
in homes with frequent conflict, thought violence and harassment was a problem in theircommunities, or felt unsafe while walking
alone were all more likely to leave their homes
infrequently or never. Women who headed
their households alone or together with apartner were more likely to leave their homes
daily (50 and 53%, respectively) when compared to women whose husbands head theirhouseholds (33%). Additionally, women who
reported feeling unsafe in their own homewere more likely to say that they do not see
their friends at all.

6. RECOMMENDATIONS
Cameroon maintained relatively low rates
of COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic, but has experienced a spike preceding
the study period, although reporting can besparse.4 Cameroon’s recent spike in the springof 2021 outpaced many of its neighbours’ andthe continent’s overall rate, relative to the sizeof its population.5 Although women are notcurrently identifying COVID-19 as a primaryfactor worsening aspects of their safety, it isimportant to acknowledge that the downstream effects of the recent spike may not yet
be apparent in survey results.
Beyond the impacts of COVID-19, VAW in Cameroon, both in public and in private spheres, issignificant and cannot be ignored. With morethan one third of women likely experiencing
food insecurity (39%) and 40% saying they had
lost income due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
external stressors that can increase the risk of
VAW are on the rise.
As a result of the intersectionality of VAW,
policy and programmatic interventions require tailoring to the factors driving different
experiences of violence. Not only does thetype of response that is best suited to address
VAW vary based on the specific experiences ofwomen, but the resources they seek out vary
4 Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center data.
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
5 Our World in Data. N.D. “Coronavirus rates per million”.

as well. This work stresses the importance ofpartnering with the existing infrastructurethat supports women in vulnerable situations
to empower communities with the full suite ofresources they may need to support women.
Considering this, the research supports threerecommendations:
1. Interventions that are meant to address
VAW should consider how policy interventions in other areas may alleviate some of theroot causes of VAW, which are disproportionately felt by women.
The intersection and continuum of VAW calls
for a comprehensive policy framework on
VAW, which mainstreams the issue and its
impact across all policy areas. Women in rural areas of Cameroon (which tend to be lessresourced in general), tend to be more vulnerable and tend also to expect that violence andharassment, both in public and at home, aremore common.
More specifically, the results of this survey callfor the further linking of programmes aimed
at connecting resources to more isolated rural areas with initiatives on ending VAW, as
they highlight the reciprocal causal effects ofboth location and infringements on women’s
rights. As with any programme implementation, however, it is critical to acknowledge theimpacts of changing cultural norms that may

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19

15differ between urban and rural areas on relational stress between family members, as wellas the downstream effects that may result
from shifting connections outside the community. Additionally, any response or recovery
plans, including those primarily focused on theimpacts of COVID-19, should integrate planning and measures to address VAW.
2. Trust in existing institutions and community-level infrastructure in Cameroon should becapitalized on to bolster women’s confidence
and feelings of safety while moving aroundpublic spaces.
These types of initiatives could help improve
feelings of safety for women that are often
out in their communities for work or because
they are socializing with others. Similarly,
improving resources available at local police
stations and other local community leaders’spaces, including providing training or capacity-building, may encourage women to reportviolence, abuse or harassment that happensin their communities. Police departments may
be able to serve their communities more effectively by providing dedicated staff who arefamiliar with VAW to respond to complaintsof this nature, or by linking women who cometo the police to report VAW with specialized
community resources.

3. The challenges associated with intrahousehold conflict will require programmaticinterventions that leverage familial support
structures and empower women to take onhead-of-household roles together with theirhusbands.
Centralized resources may not be accessible
for all women experiencing violence from apartner or other household member, not only
because domestic violence is often considereda private matter but also because of a lack ofaccessibility and fear of repercussions. Suchcases require careful placement of resourcesin more informal channels where women feel
comfortable reporting, for instance througha trusted female family member who may
benefit from access to resources that she canpass on to the affected woman. Additionally,
women who take on leadership roles either
on their own or together with their husbands
tend to report higher feelings of safety while
out in their communities, as well as more frequent interaction with their communities. As
with programmatic gender mainstreaming, it
is important to consider the downstream impacts that interventions may have on particular external stressors, such as intentional or
accidental shifting of gender roles and norms
that could easily do more harm than good if
not carefully accounted for.

16

7. METHODOLOGY
The survey was fielded via Computer-Assisted
Telephone Interviewing using random-digit dialing to mobile numbers between 30 April–30
May 2021. The total number of completed interviews was 1,226. Cameroon has maintained
relatively low rates of COVID-19 during thefirst year of the pandemic, but experienced aspike preceding the study period, although
reporting is rather spotty from day-to-day. A
government-approved vaccination effort began in the country in May 2021.

The sample was drawn via random-digit dialing among the population with mobile phone
numbers, so the sample population is limited to women aged 18 or over with mobile
phone access. Targets by region and age werereached or nearly reached without significant
difficulty. There were no deviations between
the targeted percentages and weighted percentages across age groups.

Age group

Percentage of adult women (from UN DESA)*Percentage of adult women from sample data

18–29

41

41

30–39

25

25

40–49

16

16

50–59

10

9

60+

9

9

DEFINITIONSCommunity: A term referencing the geographic area in which the respondent lives.
Food insecurity: This study used the World
Food Programme/Food and Agriculture Organization’s formulation to measure food insecurity with an eight-statement battery ofquestions. These data can be used to establish estimates of the proportion of the sample
who are moderately or severely food insecure,which can also be disaggregated by other variables of interest through the use of the FAO
Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) module. Any references in the report to prevalenceof moderate or severe food insecurity represent estimates of the prevalence and should
be interpreted as such.
Partnered: A term referring to women who aremarried or living/cohabiting with a partner.
Violence against women (VAW): Any act ofgender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychologicalharm or suffering to women, including threatsof such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivationof liberty, whether occurring in public or in
private life.

Measuring the shadow pandemic:
Violence against women during COVID-19

17

© 2021 UN Women. All rights reserved.
The views expressed in this publication arethose of the author(s) and do not necessarily
represent the views of UN Women, the United
Nations or any of its affiliated organizations.
Produced by the Women Count programme
Editor: Jen Ross
Design: Ouissal Hmazzou

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