Crime
Society & Culture
The Cycle of Violence: From Classroom to Nation
The writer examines a viral video of a teacher brutally beating a student, tracing it to deeper patterns of inherited violence in Cameroonian society—from schoolyard beatings to documented abuses in conflict zones. The piece asks why such cruelty persists and where accountability begins.
The Boy Child and the Cycle of Violence: Why Rape Prevention Requires Looking at Male Vulnerability
The writer argues that while advocacy for the girl child is necessary and important, a parallel neglect of the boy child—particularly vulnerable boys in poverty, conflict, and street life—has created a generation of men shaped by victimhood and deprivation. Real prevention of sexual violence, the piece contends, requires understanding the conditions that produce perpetrators, not only protecting targets.
The Bystander Effect: Why We Hesitate to Help in Emergencies
This analytical piece examines the psychological and social mechanisms that prevent onlookers from offering assistance during emergencies—from diffusion of responsibility and social influence to cultural conditioning and perceived danger. The writer presents six key factors that explain bystander apathy, then offers practical strategies for both victims and witnesses to overcome these paralysing dynamics.
On Child Sexual Abuse, Silence, and the Role of Art
The writer examines the epidemic of child sexual abuse in Cameroonian society, prompted by X Maleya's graphically explicit music video addressing the subject—which TRACE Africa refused to broadcast. The piece argues that while the video's violence is difficult to witness, it serves a necessary function in breaking the silence that allows perpetrators to hide behind family reputation and institutional power.
How Professional Are Our Professionals?
Following the death of a teenager in a Cameroonian hospital and its documentation and broadcast on social media, the writer reflects on the erosion of professional ethics and human dignity among doctors, journalists, police, and soldiers—all enabled by the reflexive reach for smartphones and a deeper failure of institutional accountability.
The Soma Simon Case: On Scams, Service Providers, and Civic Accountability
A Cameroon-based writer recounts a near-miss with a mobile money scam and uses it to indict Orange Cameroun and law enforcement for failing to police fraud conducted on their networks. The piece calls for transparent prosecution of identified perpetrators and systematic safeguards—arguing that the burden of prevention lies not with individual vigilance but with institutional responsibility.
The Scammer's Brand: How Fraud Damages Cameroon's International Standing
The writer examines how Cameroonian nationals engaged in international financial fraud are reshaping global perceptions of Cameroonians abroad, creating systemic barriers for honest citizens trying to conduct legitimate financial transactions. The piece situates this criminal activity within larger histories of colonial extraction and contemporary economic desperation, while critiquing both the moral failures of individual scammers and the systemic inequalities that drive migration and crime.