**Behind the word “femicide” are women killed because they are women—often after a succession of abuse, threats and unanswered cries for help. In Cameroon, these killings can be severely punished, but femicide is not yet recognised as a separate criminal offence. What does the law provide, and what remedies are available to victims and their families?

Content warning: This article discusses physical violence and homicide. If you are in immediate danger, call the police on 117, the gendarmerie on 113, or go to the nearest police station or gendarmerie brigade.

Femicide is not simply a “domestic tragedy”

Femicide generally means the killing of a woman or girl because of her sex or gender. It may be committed by a husband, intimate partner, former partner, family member or another person.

Not every killing of a woman is automatically a femicide. Its gender-related nature may be revealed by the surrounding circumstances: repeated domestic abuse, punishment for ending a relationship, sexual violence, forced marriage, possessiveness or an attempt to control a woman’s body, income, movements and choices.

Using the word “femicide” helps society recognise that these deaths are not always isolated or unpredictable. In many cases, they are the final stage of an escalating pattern:

  1. Monitoring the woman’s telephone, movements or finances;
  2. Isolating her from relatives and friends;
  3. Humiliating, intimidating or threatening her;
  4. Physical or sexual violence;
  5. Death threats, strangulation or the use of a weapon;
  6. A fatal attack.

Jealousy is not proof of love. Preventing a woman from working, taking her income, threatening her children or forcing her to have sex are also forms of violence.

Tragedies that have shaken Cameroon

The death of Diane Yangwo, a teacher and mother of three, deeply affected public opinion in Cameroon. She died in Douala in November 2023 after suffering severe violence at the hands of her husband. In 2025, the offence selected by the court and the sentence imposed at first instance caused widespread outrage. Her family appealed the decision.

The case illustrates a crucial legal reality: the offence with which an accused person is charged—and ultimately convicted—largely determines the applicable punishment. Depending on whether the facts are classified as murder, premeditated murder or assault resulting in death, the legal outcome can differ considerably.

Available figures should be treated with caution. Civil-society groups recorded 77 women killed in 2024 and 42 during the first six months of 2025, but these figures are not an exhaustive judicial count. Many cases are not reported, are recorded under another legal classification or remain invisible. Cameroon has been working with the United Nations to improve the collection of data on gender-related killings. (United Nations, Le Monde Afrique)

These tragedies must be reported with dignity—without degrading images, sensational details or suggestions that the victim was responsible because she did not leave earlier. Attempting to leave an abusive partner can itself be a period of heightened danger.

What does Cameroonian law provide?

Cameroon’s Penal Code does not currently define femicide as a separate criminal offence. This does not mean that killing a woman goes unpunished. Depending on the evidence, several existing offences may apply.

Murder

Section 275 of the Penal Code punishes a person who intentionally causes the death of another.

The prosecution must therefore establish an intention to kill. Courts may infer that intention from factors such as the weapon used, the part of the body targeted, the severity and repetition of the blows, earlier threats and the accused person’s conduct before or after the attack.

Premeditated or aggravated murder

Section 276 concerns certain aggravated forms of murder, including a killing committed with premeditation or to prepare, facilitate or carry out another offence.

Premeditation means that the act was planned or decided upon before it was committed. It cannot be inferred automatically from the brutality of the killing alone.

Assault or injuries resulting in death

Where the evidence establishes an intention to cause harm but does not prove an intention to kill, the facts may receive a different classification, such as assault or injuries resulting in death.

This distinction is fundamental. It can result in a substantially different sentence and may explain why some decisions are perceived as unduly lenient by victims’ families and the public.

The Cameroon Penal Code also criminalises conduct that can precede a femicide, including threats, assault, sexual violence, unlawful confinement and other attacks on a person’s physical integrity.

Why are advocates demanding specific legal recognition?

Recognising femicide as a separate offence could make it easier to identify gender-related motives, standardise investigations and judicial decisions, and produce more reliable statistics.

It could also require investigators and courts to examine systematically:

  • Previous physical or sexual violence;
  • Death threats;
  • Coercive or controlling conduct;
  • Economic abuse;
  • Harassment following a separation;
  • Earlier complaints or requests for help.

A new offence would not, however, solve the problem on its own. Prevention also requires:

  • Proper treatment of victims at police stations and gendarmerie brigades;
  • Rapid safety and protection measures;
  • Affordable medical and medico-legal certificates;
  • Emergency accommodation;
  • Training for police officers, gendarmes, magistrates and healthcare workers;
  • Serious follow-up of complaints and death threats;
  • Accessible legal, medical and psychosocial assistance throughout Cameroon.

A national assessment has identified obstacles including limited access to integrated services, poor coordination between institutions, the stigmatisation of survivors and serious gaps in data collection. (Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family—MINPROFF)

What can a woman facing violence or threats do?

  1. Get to safety

In an immediate emergency, the priority is not to collect every piece of evidence. It is to stay alive.

The victim may go to a safe place, alert a trusted person and call:

  • Police emergency services: 117 from a mobile telephone;
  • Gendarmerie: 113, free and available 24 hours a day;
  • Emergency medical assistance: 119;
  • Fire and rescue services: 118.

These numbers are published by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and the National Gendarmerie.

Where it can be done without increasing the danger, the victim may discreetly prepare copies of identity documents, children’s birth certificates, medical documents, medication, money and the contact details of a trusted person.

  1. Have the injuries medically documented

A victim should seek medical attention promptly, even if the injuries appear minor. She may ask healthcare professionals to record all observed injuries and relevant statements in her medical file and request information about obtaining a medical or medico-legal certificate.

Where it is safe to do so, she may preserve:

  • Dated photographs of injuries or property damage;
  • Threatening messages, emails and voice notes;
  • The names and contact details of witnesses;
  • Medical records, prescriptions and receipts;
  • Details of earlier complaints or police interventions;
  • A written timeline of the abuse.

Evidence should be kept somewhere the alleged offender cannot access. A lack of physical evidence should never prevent a person from seeking assistance or reporting violence.

  1. File a complaint

A victim may report the matter to a police station, gendarmerie brigade or the territorially competent State Counsel.

She should request a receipt or copy of the complaint. If neither is provided, she may record the date, place and identity of the department or officer who received it.

The account should be as precise as possible, covering:

  • What happened and when;
  • Injuries sustained;
  • Threats that were made;
  • The presence or availability of weapons;
  • Previous acts of violence;
  • Potential witnesses;
  • Any danger faced by children.

The victim does not have to determine the precise criminal charge herself. The investigating and judicial authorities are responsible for applying the appropriate legal classification.

  1. Join the proceedings as a civil party

A surviving victim—or the eligible relatives of a deceased victim—may seek to join the criminal proceedings as a civil party and claim compensation for the harm suffered.

The Criminal Procedure Code also provides for a complaint accompanied by an application to join the proceedings as a civil party before an examining magistrate, subject to certain conditions and the possible payment of a security deposit.

Because this procedure can be technical, assistance from a lawyer is strongly recommended. The relevant provisions are available through the Services of the Prime Minister.

  1. Challenge a judicial decision

Depending on the decision and the person’s procedural status, an appeal or another remedy may be available.

Because the applicable deadlines can be very short, the victim or family should promptly consult a lawyer and obtain a copy of the judgment or decision they wish to challenge.

What can relatives and witnesses do?

Simply telling a victim to “leave him” is not enough. She may be financially dependent on the perpetrator, fear for her children or know that an unplanned departure could provoke retaliation.

A relative or trusted person can instead:

  • Listen without judgement and take the victim seriously;
  • Agree on a code word for emergencies;
  • Keep copies of important documents or evidence;
  • Arrange transport and identify a safe destination;
  • Accompany her to a hospital, police station or lawyer;
  • Call the emergency services when the danger is serious or immediate.

Where there has been a death threat, strangulation, access to a weapon, unlawful confinement or an escalation during separation, relatives should not arrange a confrontation or improvised mediation with the alleged offender.

The law must intervene before a woman is killed

Femicide is often described afterwards as a sudden loss of control. Yet many killings are preceded by visible warning signs: complaints, threats, assaults, stalking and repeated calls for help.

The justice system’s response cannot therefore begin and end after the funeral. It must offer protection from the first warning, conduct serious investigations, preserve evidence and recognise the risk of escalating violence.

Naming femicide does not mean setting women against men. It means recognising a particular mechanism of violence, making victims visible and affirming a basic legal and human principle:

No relationship, custom, bride price or claim of jealousy gives one person ownership over a woman’s life.

This article provides general legal information based on the law and publicly available information at the date of publication. It is not a substitute for advice from a qualified lawyer concerning a particular case.