HEDECS, with sponsorship from Expertise France through UNAIDS, successfully concluded a vital two-day capacity building workshop in Mbalmayo held on the April 4^th and 5th, 2025. Focusing on strengthening Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) tools with legal aspects to address gender-based violence (GBV) and human rights violations. The workshop, brought together women task force members from across the ten regions of Cameroon, project implementing teams, and key partners. Recognizing the critical role of CLM tools in ensuring accountability and responsiveness in addressing GBV, HEDECS organized this workshop to integrate legal frameworks, policies, and mechanisms into these tools. This initiative aims to enhance access to justice, improve service provision, and align with national and international human rights standards.

Workshop Objectives:

• Capacitate women task force on the harmonized tools inclusive of legal justice.
• Enhance participants’ understanding of legal frameworks related to GBV and human rights violations.
• Strengthen CLM tools with legal aspects to improve data collection, analysis, and reporting.
• Empower stakeholders to provide legal support and referrals for survivors of GBV and human rights abuses.
• Develop a framework for legal advocacy to enhance community-led justice mechanisms.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing among legal experts, human rights defenders, and CLM practitioners.

Workshop Highlights:

• Experience Sharing: Participants from previous CLM projects shared their experiences, challenges, and lessons learned, providing valuable insights into the practical application of CLM tools.
• Legal Frameworks: Sessions focused on regional and domestic legal instruments, policies, decrees, and circulars related to GBV and human rights violations, including the Cameroon Penal Code.
• Case Documentation and Legal Procedures: Participants learned about proper file documentation and legal procedures, including filing complaints, understanding evidence, and accessing medical-legal certificates.
• CLM Tool Review and Indicators: The workshop reviewed and refined CLM tools and indicators, ensuring clarity and effectiveness in data collection and reporting.
• Strengthening CLM Tools: Day two was focused on strengthening the tools, and making amendments to the previous days work.

Key Outcomes:

• Improved knowledge, skills, and competencies of the women task force on legal justice tools.
• Production of harmonized tools on CLM legal justice.
• Updated HEDECS’ gender CLM tools with legal justice indicators/tools.