Reconversion professionnelle des travailleuses du sexe au Cameroun : Analyse du dispositif mis en place par l’Association Horizons Femmes

Abstract

Faced with the continuation of the prostitution phenomenon among Cameroonian youth, and despite its prohibition, this research which is based on theoretical and factual findings presents the problem of professional training of sex workers (SW) in Cameroon. Its objective is to analyse the performance of the training system set up by Horizons Women Association (HWA) during the COVID-19 period through the project "COVID-19: Prevention, protection and economic recovery.", which was carried out in the city of Yaounde. This research resulted to a general objective and three specific objectives, namely: GO: Analyse the performance of the training system implemented by the HWA; SO1: Describe the main intervention components of the training system implemented by HWA; SO2: Identify the impacts experienced by the beneficiaries at the socio-economic level; SO3: Identify the difficulties and obstacles that hinder the performance of the training system.The method adopted for data analysis is based on a qualitative approach. The data collection was carried out through semi-directive interviews conducted with sex workers (SW) and peer educators involved in the project, supplemented by participant observation and a literature analysis. The results obtained after analysing the data show us that the performance of the training system put in place by the HWA during the COVID-19 period is mixed. Barely 6.7% SW managed to initiate an IGA and at the time of our investigation none of the IGA were operational. This mixed result of the system is due to several important factors not taken into account during the conception and implementation of the project. These factors are the following: Insufficient training of beneficiaries, lack of resultsbased management, lack of participatory management, insufficient duration of support for beneficiaries, insufficient funding for IGA. In order to improve the system for future projects