Baseline Study Consultant: Addressing sexual violence and discrimination against adolescent girls in Sierra Leone

INTRODUCTION

Equality Now seeks expressions of interest from consultants to support the development of baseline data for the project – Protekt Wi Gal Pikin Dem: Addressing sexual violence and discrimination against adolescent girls in Sierra Leone.

Through this project, Equality Now and its partners in Sierra Leone, Defence for Children International (DCI) and Women Against Violence and Exploitation in Society (WAVES), are teaming up to undertake collective legal and advocacy actions as well as targeted interventions aimed at holding the government of Sierra Leone and other duty bearers to account on the protection of adolescent girls from sexual violence and discrimination especially with regards to education. Project activities are conducted in Freetown, Bo and Kenema districts.

The project aims to achieve the following outcomes:

1. Duty bearers and key stakeholders work effectively to advance and protect the rights of adolescent girls to be free from SGBV.
2. The government of Sierra Leone is held accountable for the protection of the rights of adolescent girls against sexual violence and upholding their right to education in line with, international human rights commitments and principles including SDG 4 & 5.
3. Enhanced agency of adolescent girls to understand and claim their right to education in an environment that is free from sexual violence and discrimination.
4. Strengthened access to justice and support services for adolescent girl survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
5. The public support and take action to protect adolescent girls against sexual violence.

We now wish to hire a consultant to assist us in developing the baseline for this project, helping us to assess a number of key indicators for those outcomes.

BACKGROUND

Equality Now, is an international women’s rights organization founded in 1992 that works to achieve legal and systemic changes that address violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world, with a focus on ending Sexual violence, Harmful practices (FGM and CEFM), Discrimination in Law and Sex Trafficking. Combining grassroots activism with international, regional and national legal advocacy, Equality Now’s approach links high level policy advocacy and global activism with support and legal advice to grassroots partners and networks working on specific cases of women and girls in order to promote change at all levels.

DCI was founded in 1998 and is the local chapter of an international non-governmental organisation – Defence for Children International. DCI promotes and protects the rights of children in Sierra Leone in accordance with the UNCRC and other international child rights instruments, advocating for child rights in the country and providing technical expertise in setting standards through the development of domestic laws and policies such as the Child Rights Act, the Sexual Offences Act, the Anti-Human Trafficking Act, the Legal Aid Act and others. DCI has been successful in helping thousands of young survivors of violence to get the support they need to claim their rights.

WAVES is a national NGO with head quarters in Bo City, Southern Sierra Leone. Their main focus is on women and girl children, in and out of school young women, teenage/child mothers, deprived women, adolescent girls and street girl children. WAVES is among the lead implementing partners of the Sierra Leone Reparations Program and The End Child Marriage Program. WAVES coordinates a wide range of organizations that campaign for and uphold the rights of women and girls in accessing justice.

Sexual violence against children including adolescents in Sierra Leone is so pervasive that the President declared the issue a national emergency. Evidence, including data from the GOSL Family Support Unit (FSU), shows that the rate of reported cases of rape of children has been steadily increasing year on year and, while data is not sex-disaggregated, sector players estimate that over 90% of these violations are against adolescent girls. In addition, UNICEF reports show that Sierra Leone has the 18th highest prevalence rate of child marriage in the world: 39% of girls are married before their 18th birthday and 13% are married before the age of 15.

At the school level, adolescent girls are at a high risk of abuse from teachers and their peers. Anecdotal evidence shows that 6 out of 10 cases of sexual violence and abuse against girls in schools is perpetrated by teachers while boys project sexual abuse towards adolescent girls through abusive language, inappropriate touching and sexual harassment. Most primary schools lack appropriate mechanisms and referral pathways for cases of sexual violence and abuse of adolescent girls while girls themselves have limited understanding of their rights to be free from abuse and channels of redress.

Beyond the failure to actively protect adolescent girls from violation, the government of Sierra Leone was heavily criticized for introducing a ban on pregnant girls attending school in 2015. Following a ruling in late 2019 by the ECOWAS Court of Justice the ban was lifted in 2020, and work to promote and support the full access of pregnant girls and teenage mothers to school is a major part of this project.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELIVERABLES

Working closely with staff from DCI and WAVES and with Equality Now’s Programme Monitoring Evaluation Knowledge and Information Manager and the Project Lead, the consultant will be required to carry out the following activities to allow the assessment of key indicators.

Please note that the tasks assigned to the consultant form part of the overall assessment process for each indicator; see the attached copy of the working document for the baseline study.

Indicator 1a – Percentage of cases of sexual violence against adolescent girls reported to the Family Support Unit in target areas that are completely investigated including all relevant evidence and documentation.

• Compile lists of cases of each type of sexual violence against girls aged 10 – 19 that were reported to the FSU in each target district. from June 2019 – May 2020.
• Examine State counsel records for the period from June 2019 – May 2020 to count number of cases of each type of sexual violence in each district against girls aged 10 – 19 that were fully investigated and what the case outcomes were.
• Calculate percentages for each district and the average, disaggregated by type of sexual violence.

Indicator 1b – Average level of implementation (score) by a sample of the 25 targeted schools of measures that facilitate reporting by girls of sexual abuse and violence.

• Identify and contact individuals to be surveyed
• Conduct survey
• Compile results and calculate score

Indicator 2a – Percentage of targeted schools where pregnant girls and teenage mothers are enrolled and attending and number of girls in each case.

• Ask questions through same survey as for indicator 1b
• Calculate percentage of schools in each target district and overall average
• Calculate number of girls in each target district and overall total.

Indicator 3a – Percentage of girls in target schools and girls clubs who understand their rights to education and to freedom from sexual violence and discrimination, how to claim them and what to do when those rights are violated.

• Conduct survey
• Analyse results

Indicator 3b – Number of girls in target areas who are supported by other girls to address sexual violence.

• Conduct survey
• Interview girls, victims of SGBV
• Compile the numbers by target district and overall

Indicator 4b – Number of pregnant girls and teenage mothers in target areas accessing counselling through the project and other service providers identified through mapping.

• Request that each of the identified organisations shares the numbers of pregnant girls and teenage mothers to whom they provided counselling during 2020.
• Compile the numbers for each target district and overall.

Indicator 4c – Percentage of cases of SGBV against adolescent girls presented to the FSU that lead to successful prosecutions.

• Calculate percentages for each target district and the average, disaggregated by type of sexual violence using data collected for indicator 1a.

DURATION, LOCATION AND TIMETABLE

This consultancy is estimated to require approximately 25 working days and should be completed by May 21st at the latest.

The consultant will be required to meet with DCI and WAVES in their offices in Freetown and Bo City respectively. All the indicators require information to be collected in Freetown, Bo and Kenema with the exception of 1b and 2a which relate to work with schools in Bo and Kenema only.

EXPERTISE REQUIRED

Essential

• Proven experience conducting baseline studies and/or evaluations of projects and programmes.
• Expertise in qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods for social programmes and projects.
• Understanding and experience in relation to women and girl’s rights, in particular their right to be free from sexual violence and discrimination especially with regards to education.
• Excellent written and spoken English.
• Resident in Sierra Leone.

Desirable

• Understanding and experience of working with the Sierra Leonian legal system and bodies such as the FSU and the State Counsel.
• Experience in working with the education sector and with adolescent girls.
• Child Protection and Safeguarding knowledge.