Aruba and Guyana Multi-Sectoral Protection Assessment – Short Term Consultancy

Purpose of the Multi-Sectoral Protection Assessment

HIAS is seeking a consultant to conduct a multi-sectoral protection assessment in order to identify the immediate impacts of the Venezuelan crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic on refugees and forcibly displaced persons in Guyana and Aruba. This includes an overview of the needs of the affected population and defining priorities for response to protection concerns. This assessment will also have an intensive focus on Mental Health & Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS) and Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Gender for refugees and forcibly displaced persons in Aruba and Guyana (Georgetown and Bartica). The key objectives are as follows:

1. Provide an overview of the protection and humanitarian context for refugees in Aruba and Guyana.
2. Understanding the range, scope, and scale of mental health & psychosocial issues, GBV, and general protection issues, facing women, girls, men and boys in Aruba and Guyana.
3. Identifying gaps in current response to protection concerns.
4. Make recommendations for HIAS Protection, MHPSS and GBV programming and response moving forward.

Specific Protection Objectives

• Building on existing data collected through the GBV Safety audits, develop an improved understanding of the current living conditions at the household level, including access to safe water and sanitation, gender and protection concerns, education, health and shelter etc.
• An understanding of recent trends of displacement.
• Building on existing data collected through the GBV Safety audits, Identification of the unique risks facing women and girls, men and boys, and whether these risks are magnified for certain groups within the affected populations due to COVID-19, social, legal, economic or cultural factors, e.g. people with disabilities, female headed households, children, etc.
• An exploration of the intentions and decisions of the affected populations (refugees, asylum seekers, host communities in relation to displacement and access to safety)
• Assessment of the existence and potential of community-based protection structures for risk reduction and promoting safety.
• Description of key gender roles ascribed to different groups in the household and community levels, plus an indication of whether/how these roles are changing or shared among women and girls, men and boys.

This assessment requires specific attention to understanding the mental health needs in the community, the availability of MHPSS services, identifying/exploring community perceptions on mental health concerns, and the available community structures/mechanisms for coping. This assessment also requires attention to how the current situation is exacerbating the protection risks of migrants and refugees, listening to women and girls, men and boys about the ways to reduce those risks, and listening to x about the best ways to make services more accessible. The assessment will support the scale up in core activities related to Protection, MHPSS, and GBV Programming in Aruba and Guyana.

The selected consultant will be expected to spend 11 days in Guyana and 7 days in Aruba. The consultant will work with the Country Team Focal points, the LAC & Caribbean Regional Team, and Technical Directors to plan and implement the assessment and to provide clear programmatic recommendations. The assessment should be designed in such a way as to gain insight into the following overarching questions:

• What community based protection mechanisms exist e.g. coping mechanisms, community watch groups, community leaders, women’s groups, etc.?
• What, if any, national protection coordination mechanisms currently exist? Who are the main local, national and international protection actors with capacity to respond?
• What security concerns exist in present refugee hosting locations?
• What are the relationship between the displaced Venezuelans, host community and other migrant group? (Levels of xenophobia, inclusion/exclusion)
• Who are the key actors within the host community who assist POC’s to integrate?
• What are the community’s power relations? Is any group getting more assistance than others?
• What are the current and potential livelihood opportunities?
• How do POCs prioritize their needs versus the needs of family members back in Venezuela and how does this prioritization impacts their physical and mental well-being?
• How do POCs arrive in Aruba and Guyana? What are the risks involved and their impact on their financial and wellbeing situation?
• What is the impact of the sudden influx on the host population? In what ways can the host community assist refugees?
• Is there any return (or back and forth) movement to (and from) country of origin? Why and where are they returning? Family composition of refugees returning? Are they unaccompanied or separated?
• How is the current situation in Aruba and Guyana impacting women, girls, men and boys?
• What are the specific risks facing adolescent girls and adolescent boys?
• What are the specific challenges s facing women and men?
• What are the specific challenges facing displaced LGBTI persons in Aruba?
• How do GBV protection gaps inform or exacerbate MHPSS needs among the target population?
• How can identification and accurate assessment and referral of refugees with MHPSS needs be strengthened among HIAS partners?
• How can coordination, referral, and cooperation between different MHPSS and protection actors be strengthened?
• What are the most common types of GBV facing women, adolescent girls, boys, and LGBTQ individuals in the assessment areas?
• What health, psychosocial and legal justice services are available to survivors of Gender Based Violence?
• What are the barriers survivors face when trying to access these services? What services do survivors prioritize the most?
• What do women and adolescent girls think HIAS could do to help reduce their risk of violence?
• What is the scope of human trafficking into Aruba and Guyana and who is the target in Venezuela (Gender, ages and location) (This may have already been answered for Guyana, but not for Aruba.
• What protection responses are there in place to protect Venezuelan survivors of trafficking?
• How does the COVID-19 and its economic impact , affects the protection of Venezuelans in terms of access to rights and services?
• How does the COVID-19 and its economic impact , affects the physical health, food security and wellbeing?
• What are the obstacles POCs face in accessing protection related services from HIAS and other partners?

The consultant is expected to use a participatory and rights-based approach that takes into account gender, socioeconomic status and contextual factors. The Consultant will work closely with Country Focal Points and the Technical Director for Gender and GBV and the Technical Director for Resilience Programs. They will provide guidance feedback to the consultant to ensure the assessment yields information and recommendations most useful to HIAS’s continued work with this population and is done in a manner meeting ethical standards for working with vulnerable populations.

The consultant is expected to use a participatory and rights-based approach that takes into account gender, socioeconomic status and contextual factors. The Consultant will work closely with Country Focal Points and the Technical Director for Gender and GBV and the Technical Director for Resilience Programs. They will provide guidance feedback to the consultant to ensure the assessment yields information and recommendations most useful to HIAS’s continued work with this population and is done in a manner meeting ethical standards for working with vulnerable populations.

The selected consultant is expected to develop the methodology, methods, and tools for data collection and analysis. The methodology will include:

• Desk research/secondary data review of both qualitative and quantitative data available regarding protection, MHPSS and GBV programming in Aruba and Guyana.
• Mapping of partner landscape and service provision.
• Semi-structured key informant interviews with stakeholders, Protection/MHPSS service providers, and government authorities
• Site visits and observations.
• Focus group discussions with asylum seekers and refugees.

The first deliverable will be a 2-3 page document outlining methodology and data collection methods. The methodology outlined in the report should speak specifically to how data collection aligns with the three main components of the study listed in the purpose of the Learning Study.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• Minimum 4 years of experience in the humanitarian sector, preferably working with refugees and/or forcibly displaced populations;
• In-depth understanding and practical experience with IASC MHPSS Guidelines
• In-depth understanding of IASC GBV Guidelines, violence against women and girls, and gender.
• Demonstrated capacity and experience in conducting field level assessments including safety audits and developing assessment tools, e.g. questionnaires, focus group discussions.
• Demonstrated experience in implementation of multi-sectoral response to GBV including MHPSS and legal response.
• Knowledge of prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse responsibilities within the humanitarian response.
• Excellent research, communication (oral and written) and presentation skills.
• Fluency in spoken and written English and Spanish.

ABOUT US

HIAS is a global Jewish nonprofit organization working across five continents to ensure that refugees and displaced persons are protected. Throughout the United States, we help refugees reunite with families, resettle and become self-sufficient. Guided by our values and history, we help refugees rebuild their lives in safety and security and advocate to ensure that all displaced people are treated with dignity.

HIAS is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. As an equal opportunity employer, all qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, ethnic background, citizenship status, religious creed, sex, gender, sexual orientation, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, familial status, pregnancy, childbirth, age, protected veteran status, political orientation or other legally protected status.