During the opening of the Senate’s second ordinary session in Yaoundé this Tuesday, the president of the upper house, Aboubakary Abdoulaye, called upon the Cameroonian government to amplify the fight against sexual violence targeting children and the deeply concerning issue of femicides.
Aboubakary Abdoulaye, who serves as both the President of the Senate and the Lamido of Rey Bouba, has issued a formal appeal for more decisive government action against the sexual abuse of children and the murder of women throughout Cameroon.
Addressing an audience that included Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute, the President of the National Assembly, and various cabinet members at the Senate’s session opening in Yaoundé, he decried these crimes as profound assaults on the dignity, integrity, and lives of the victims.
“Sexual abuse targeting women and children, as well as acts of femicide, must be confronted with resolve,” he stated, urging the authorities to halt these violent acts.
This declaration occurs amid a period of intense national emotion following the alleged rape of a three-year-old girl in Yaoundé. The incident, which has led to protests and a wave of public outrage, has brought the debate on child protection and the need for stronger prevention and punishment for gender-based violence back into the national spotlight.