ToR to conduct a Baseline Assessment on Service Delivery Systems and the Needs of Women and Girls and Survivors in Conflict-Affected Areas of Ethiopia

Background about NEWA

The Network of Ethiopian Women’s Associations (NEWA) is a non-partisan, non-governmental national network established in 2003. Currently, NEWA has 50-member local associations and organizations working together for a strong advocacy voice for gender equality and women’s political, socio-economic, and legal advancement.

NEWA has a twofold goal:

• To synchronize the of women’s associations into a cohesive collective effort, fostering synergy to achieve common goals for gender equality.
• To launch robust public campaigns aimed at promoting, advocating for, and lobbying for women’s rights.
• NEWA is guided by its Five-Year Strategic Plan, and research and evidence-based advocacy is one of the overarching and strategic objectives. NEWA has made significant strides in addressing the gender gap across the nation and amplifying women’s voices in collaboration with both local and international partners.

With the financial support from the UN Trust Fund, NEWA is implementing a project titled “Improving legal and service response to SGBV in conflict affected areas of Ethiopia.” It is designed to enhance the implementation of legislation, policies, national action plans, service standards, and accountability systems to prevent and end SGBV in Ethiopia.

The project is to be implemented at both national and regional levels, specifically in Amhara, Tigray and Benishangul-Gumuz regions. To effectively and efficiently implement and meet the set objectives and outcomes of this intervention, NEWA will engage and collaborate with relevant stakeholders at all levels and phases.

This ToR is therefore prepared to call an expression of interest for consultant/s or firm to apply and provide the consultancy service.

Background

Ethiopia has faced recurring conflicts and humanitarian crises across several regions, particularly Tigray, Amhara, and Benishangul-Gumuz, which have severely affected women and girls in general, and survivors of gender-based violence (GBV). The conflicts and displacement have caused additional violence and disrupted justice, health, psychosocial, and legal services, leaving many survivors with little or no access to life-saving, survivor-centered support.

At the same time, community coping mechanisms, referral systems, and institutional capacities remain weak and fragmented. In conflict-affected areas, stigma, insecurity, and poor coordination further limit women’s and girls’ access to justice and essential services. To execute the planned actions, meet the objectives this project strives to and ultimately address the challenges the Ethiopian women and girls are facing, a comprehensive baseline assessment is needed to map existing service delivery systems, identify gaps and needs, and generate evidence-based recommendations to strengthen coordinated responses at both regional and national levels

Purpose of the Assessment

The purpose of this baseline assessment is to generate strong evidence on the functionality, accessibility, coordination, response and service quality of justice/legal, health, psychosocial, legal service delivery systems and policies related to GBV in conflict-affected areas of Ethiopia, namely Amhara, Tigray, and Benishangul-Gumuz regions, as well as at the federal level. The assessment further seeks to identify both immediate and long-term needs of women and girls, including survivors of gender-based violence (GBV), to inform conflict-sensitive, survivor-centered, and integrated programmatic responses.

Objectives

Major objective

To assess the current systems for delivering services related to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (GBV), encompassing justice/legal frameworks, psychosocial support, and relevant policies, in order to demonstrate how protection, prevention, coordination, and responses are implemented at the federal level and across the three regions (Amhara, Tigray, and Benishangul-Gumuz)

 Specific objectives

The specific objectives are:

• To map the stakeholder the availability, accessibility, and functionality of law enforcement, legal, health, and psychosocial services, and assess the quality, capacity, and coordination of these systems at both regional (Amhara, Tigray, Benishangul-Gumuz) and federal levels.
• To identify gaps, barriers, and challenges that limit access to survivor-centered, conflict-sensitive, and integrated services for conflict-induced SGBV survivors.
• To document the needs, coping mechanisms, and protection gaps of SGBV survivors in conflict-affected communities.
• To provide practical, context-specific recommendations for strengthening multi-sectoral, survivor-centered service delivery, including program design, advocacy, and capacity-building interventions at regional and federal levels.

Scope of Work

The consultant/firm will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Conduct a desk review of GBV related national laws, policies, strategies, service delivery response mechanisms to SGBV survivors, women and girls, and relevant humanitarian and development frameworks.
• Map and assess available, accessibility, functionality of services at community, regional, and /federal levels, including the humanitarian coordination systems.
• Conduct Key informant interviews with representatives of Ministry of Women and social affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, federal Police, Courts, as well as with regional bureaus, WROs, INGOs, One stop centers, Shelters, community leaders, survivors and humanitarian actors.
• Through using survivor center approach, conduct In-depth interview and if it is possible conduct FGD Safely and ethically women, girls, and survivors to capture their experiences and needs.
• Analyze the protection, prevention, referral pathways, coordination and response mechanisms (formal and informal) at regional and federal level.
• Highlight systemic challenges in service delivery in conflict-affected settings, such as mobility restrictions, damaged infrastructure, or limited human resources.
• Provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening services and systems.

Methodology

The consultant(s)/firm shall be responsible for designing the assessment approach and methodology, including the mixed-methods design and the development of primary and secondary data collection tools. but not limited to, are suggested, including applying a conflict-sensitive, survivor-centered, and mixed-methods approach:

• Desk Review of national and regional policies, frameworks, and existing GBV/justice/health data.
• Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) with service providers, humanitarian actors, and policymakers.
• In-depth interview or Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with women and girls (while ensuring confidentiality, safety, and ethical protocols).
• Service Mapping tools to assess geographic and functional availability.
• Survivor Journey/Case Study documentation to highlight barriers and coping strategies.
• All methods will adhere to ethical standards, including informed consent, confidentiality, and referral to appropriate services if needed.
• Quantitative data will be collected through structured surveys to complement and substantiate the qualitative findings.

Deliverables

• Technical and financial proposals, and then the below after winning the bid.
• Inception Report (methodology, tools, sampling strategy, and work plan).
• Service Mapping Report with visual maps of available services in the three regions and at federal level.
• Draft Baseline Assessment Report, including data collected, analysis, findings, and conclusions and recommendations.
• Final Baseline Assessment Report incorporating given inputs and comments, with actionable recommendations, annexes (data collection tools, stakeholders consulted, service maps).
• Policy brief

Duration and Level of Effort

• The assignment is expected to be completed within three months

Reporting

The consulting company/ firm is expected to work closely and in consultation with the staff of NEWA to meet the objective of the assignment and shall report to the GBV program coordinator. All the reporting, data compilation, and organization shall be in the English language.

Required Qualifications

Professional Qualification and Experience of the Consultant(s)

The consultant(s) or firm expressing interest for the Assessment has the following key Professional Qualification and Experience of the Consultant(s):

• The Consultant company must have a minimum of 5 years of proven experience in conducting Assessment, baseline survey, service mapping, or evaluations in conflict-affected areas, specifically in Tigray, Amhara and Benishangul-Gumuz regions.
• The consulting firm must have a team of experts, with genuine women’ representation, proven experience in conducting assessments and baseline surveys, particularly in the areas of gender, gender-based violence (GBV), protection, justice, and humanitarian response in conflict-affected contexts.
• For the purposes of this study, the lead consultant is required to be a woman
• Understanding of Ethiopia’s justice, health, psychosocial, and legal systems, and humanitarian coordination structures.
• Strong qualitative and quantitative research skills.
• Knowledge of ethical research standards for working with GBV survivors.
• Research and assessment that have strong analytical and report-writing skills.
• The team must have strong communication and facilitation skills.
• Familiarity with the local context and language of the selected regions is preferred.
• The team must have a minimum of MA degree in the fields of Law, Peace and Security, Gender Studies, Sociology, Public Health, Development Studies, or other related fields
• The consultant has a proven track record of successfully conducting and managing similar activities and providing at least two testimonial letters.
• If a firm involves more than one expert, please provide description of the duties and responsibilities of teammates
• Excellent writing and facilitation skills in English and Amharic (knowledge of additional local languages an asset)
• Renewed license, VAT registration and TIN number.

NB. The consultants, as well as data collectors, and others who will be part of the assessment are also obliged to sign the safeguarding and child protection policy of NEWA, February 2020,