ABSTRACT
In many countries, wildlife trafficking is often thought of in as a crime of men and that women seldom participate in it because of the risks involved. Currently, wildlife crime in Cameroon can be distinguished based on three different channels: rural consumption, urban consumption, and foreign consumption. To better understand wildlife crime and the involvement of women in these different channels, this chapter explores (1) the organization of wildlife crime in Cameroon and (2) the various roles that women played across channels in the wildlife crime supply chain. This chapter argues that the roles in wildlife trafficking in Cameroon are gender-based, and the very lucrative nature of this ecological crime can attract women into the sector because of preexisting high levels of social discrimination against women in other sectors and few job opportunities available in the country.
