International Federation of Women Lawyers Decries Sexual Harassment at Cameroon’s Buea University

Among the many many challenges university students in Cameroon have to face is coping with sexual harassment from both teachers and school mates. With mostly females as victims, civil society organizations and rights groups often launch calls for probes into reported incidents but hardly get a concrete response from the school administration.The International Federation of Women lawyers (FIDA) – Cameroon chapter has written to the Vice Chancellor of the University of Buea demanding an in-depth investigation on allegations of sexual harassment perpetrated in the department of Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC).In a document signed by Barrister Gladys Mbuya, the federation states that it has received a complaint from a former student of the department of journalism and mass communication explaining how she was harassed several times by a lecturer of the department.“It has equally been brought to our knowledge that this same lecturer (name withheld for now) in your University has been in the habit of sexually harassing female students in the department in exchange for marks and only God knows for how long”. The document dated May 6th 2020 has neither the name of the complainer nor that of the University lecturer.The International Federation of Women Lawyers Cameroon chapter regrets that such complaints have been taken to the University administration several times but have been treated with levity. This to FIDA, has placed girls of the department in the hands of lecturers that keep aside intellectual uprightness as a base for success while using sex to award pass marks to female students against their will.FIDA calls on the attention of the Vice Chancellor of the University that sexual harassment is a serious offence and must not be tolerated or treated with little concern.“We are therefore calling on your office to forward all complaints in relation to this to the state counsel’s chambers Buea for proper investigations to be open”.Bar. Gladys Mbuya, President of FIDA Cameroon told Mimi Mefo Info on phone that they are prepared to get perpetrators to book whether the University administration takes it serious or not. This is not the first time such allegations are being made against an instructor in the department which is one of the most prestigious in the university.Mimi Mefo Info.