IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v277y2021ics0277953621002616.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Alcohol, drugs and sexual abuse in Cameroon's rainforest

Author

Listed:
  • Gallois, Sandrine
  • van Andel, Tinde Ruth
  • Pranskaityté, Gintare

Abstract

Due to global socio-economical and ecological changes, indigenous societies are exposed to an increased risk of alcohol and substance abuse. Most research on this topic has been done on indigenous communities in Canada, Australia, the US, parts of Europe and New Zealand, leaving indigenous communities in other parts of the world largely unrepresented. This study focuses on alcohol and drug consumption among the Baka: a former hunter-gatherer society in southeastern Cameroon that has been facing drastic socio-ecological changes in the last five decades. During long-term fieldwork we collected ethnographic and empirical data by means of group and individual interviews among four Baka communities. By using a multivariable approach, we describe psychoactive substance use behaviors, its socio-cultural and political context, and consequences. Our findings show that 48% of men, 24% of women and 11% of children between five and 16 years old reported alcohol intake in the past 24 h. The use of Tramadol was also reported, including by children as young as five years old. Psychoactive substances were used for recreational purposes, as painkillers, and energy boosters. Substance abuse was related to health issues, especially problems with fertility, and to several household and social conflicts. Other factors related to substance abuse were Baka's marginalization and sexual exploitation of Baka women and girls. By discussing these matters, we hope to stimulate more research on similar problems in small-scale societies and to invite governments, human rights activists, and other important parties to take action.

Suggested Citation

  • Gallois, Sandrine & van Andel, Tinde Ruth & Pranskaityté, Gintare, 2021. "Alcohol, drugs and sexual abuse in Cameroon's rainforest," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:277:y:2021:i:c:s0277953621002616
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113929
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953621002616
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113929?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marshall, Mac & Ames, Genevieve M. & Bennett, Linda A., 2001. "Anthropological perspectives on alcohol and drugs at the turn of the new millennium," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 153-164, July.
    2. Lehti, Venla & Niemelä, Solja & Hoven, Christina & Mandell, Donald & Sourander, Andre, 2009. "Mental health, substance use and suicidal behaviour among young indigenous people in the Arctic: A systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 1194-1203, October.
    3. Singer, Merrill, 2001. "Toward a bio-cultural and political economic integration of alcohol, tobacco and drug studies in the coming century," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 199-213, July.
    4. Baer, Hans A. & Singer, Merrill & Johnsen, John H., 1986. "Toward a critical medical anthropology," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 95-98, January.
    5. Singer, Merrill, 1986. "Toward a political-economy of alcoholism: The missing link in the anthropology of drinking," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 113-130, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gallois, Sandrine & Ambassa, Appolinaire & Ramírez Rozzi, Fernando, 2024. "Indigenous peoples’ health: Culturally grounded evidence from the Baka, Southeastern Cameroon," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 350(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Haynes, Emma & Walker, Roz & Mitchell, Alice G. & Katzenellenbogen, Judy & D'Antoine, Heather & Bessarab, Dawn, 2021. "Decolonizing Indigenous health: Generating a productive dialogue to eliminate Rheumatic Heart Disease in Australia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    2. Page, Abigail E. & Minter, Tessa & Viguier, Sylvain & Migliano, Andrea Bamberg, 2018. "Hunter-gatherer health and development policy: How the promotion of sedentism worsens the Agta's health outcomes," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 39-48.
    3. Hicken, Margaret T. & Kravitz-Wirtz, Nicole & Durkee, Myles & Jackson, James S., 2018. "Racial inequalities in health: Framing future research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 11-18.
    4. Valesca S. M. Venhof & Carolyn Stephens & Pim Martens, 2024. "Voices from the North: Exploring Sámi People’s Perspectives on Environmental Change and Mental Well-Being: A Systematic Literature Review," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-21, June.
    5. Petrasek MacDonald, Joanna & Cunsolo Willox, Ashlee & Ford, James D. & Shiwak, Inez & Wood, Michele, 2015. "Protective factors for mental health and well-being in a changing climate: Perspectives from Inuit youth in Nunatsiavut, Labrador," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 133-141.
    6. Rhodes, Tim & Singer, Merrill & Bourgois, Philippe & Friedman, Samuel R. & Strathdee, Steffanie A., 2005. "The social structural production of HIV risk among injecting drug users," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 1026-1044, September.
    7. Nelson, Sarah E. & Wilson, Kathi, 2017. "The mental health of Indigenous peoples in Canada: A critical review of research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 93-112.
    8. Cunsolo Willox, Ashlee & Harper, Sherilee L. & Ford, James D. & Landman, Karen & Houle, Karen & Edge, Victoria L., 2012. "“From this place and of this place:” Climate change, sense of place, and health in Nunatsiavut, Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(3), pages 538-547.
    9. Cross, Jamie & MacGregor, Hayley Nan, 2010. "Knowledge, legitimacy and economic practice in informal markets for medicine: A critical review of research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(9), pages 1593-1600, November.
    10. Wexler, Lisa & Rataj, Suzanne & Ivanich, Jerreed & Plavin, Jya & Mullany, Anna & Moto, Roberta & Kirk, Tanya & Goldwater, Eva & Johnson, Rhonda & Dombrowski, Kirk, 2019. "Community mobilization for rural suicide prevention: Process, learning and behavioral outcomes from Promoting Community Conversations About Research to End Suicide (PC CARES) in Northwest Alaska," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 398-407.
    11. Thirlway, Frances, 2019. "Nicotine addiction as a moral problem: Barriers to e-cigarette use for smoking cessation in two working-class areas in Northern England," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Sobo, Elisa J. & Cervantes, Griselda & Ceballos, Diego A. & McDaniels-Davidson, Corinne, 2022. "Addressing COVID-19 vaccination equity for Hispanic/Latino communities by attending to aguantarismo: A Californian US–Mexico border perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    13. Nicola Luigi Bragazzi & Dan Beamish & Jude Dzevela Kong & Jianhong Wu, 2021. "Illicit Drug Use in Canada and Implications for Suicidal Behaviors, and Household Food Insecurity: Findings from a Large, Nationally Representative Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-11, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:277:y:2021:i:c:s0277953621002616. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.