Gender Impact Assessment Consultancy

The recent floods (April-May 2024) in Kenya have been unprecedented in scale and impact, resulting in extensive livelihood losses and significant population displacement. In Tana River, Mandera, Garissa, and Turkana counties, more 78,992 people have been affected, with over 106,000 individuals displaced from their homes in these 3 counties according to the Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre, MAM impact data as of mid-May 2024. Floodwaters have inundated agricultural land, destroyed infrastructure, and disrupted access to essential services such as health care, education, and water. The frequency and severity of these floods have exacerbated pre-existing vulnerabilities, particularly among women and girls, who face increased risks of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and other protection issues.

In these 3 counties, the floods have severely impacted the safety and well-being of women and girls. Health facilities have been damaged or rendered inaccessible, leading to disruptions in essential services. The displacement and loss of livelihoods have further heightened these vulnerabilities, as traditional support networks are disrupted, and resources become scarce.

Women and girls are at increased risk of GBV, including domestic violence, sexual exploitation, and abuse, as they struggle to access safe shelters, adequate sanitation facilities, and other basic needs.

The IRC’s presence in these areas is crucial to address the urgent protection needs exacerbated by the floods. The organization aims to assess the gendered impacts of floods with a specific focus on GBV, ensuring that the emergency response is well-informed and effectively meets the needs of the most vulnerable populations.

The gender impact assessment will provide crucial insights into the differential impacts of the floods on men, women, boys, and girls, highlighting how gender roles and responsibilities have been affected. It will examine how women and girls are coping with the crisis, the barriers they face in accessing services and resources, and the support systems available to them. The assessment will also explore the intersectionality of gender with other factors such as age, disability, ethnicity, and socio-economic status to provide a holistic understanding of the vulnerabilities and needs of different groups.

By addressing these issues, the IRC aims to strengthen its emergency protection response, ensuring that it is gender-sensitive and inclusive. The findings from the gender impact assessment will inform the design and implementation of GBV prevention and response programs, enhance coordination with other humanitarian actors, and advocate for increased resources and support for affected communities. This approach will help build resilience and promote the safety and well-being of women and girls in the face of future disasters.

2.0 IRC Presence and Programmes

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a non-governmental organization that provides emergency aid and ongoing support to refugees and people displaced by conflict, persecution, or natural disasters. The IRC supports local host communities and refugees in becoming self-sufficient, focusing on protection, health, education, economic well-being, power, and safety.

The IRC implements Health, Nutrition, Protection and Rule of Law, GBV, Education and Livelihood programs in Garissa and Turkana counties. The organization has a presence in other parts of Kenya, including Nairobi, West Pokot, Tana River, and Kajiado, either directly or through partners. The IRC has a tradition of evidence-based programming through robust monitoring and evaluation systems and receives funding and technical support from UNFPA for SRH and GBV interventions in its field sites.

3.0 Rationale

IRC and its partners need current, pertinent information about the gendered impact of floods, protection needs, prevalent types of GBV, the needs of survivors, the gaps in responding to these needs, and the factors influencing girls’ and women’s vulnerability to and resilience against GBV. A Gender Impact Assessment will assist in advocacy within the humanitarian system for funding and action throughout humanitarian aid for lifesaving GBV response and the design and implementation of effective GBV prevention and response programs.

4.0 Gender Impact Assessment

4.1 Overview

Together with partners, IRC has been implementing integrated emergency flood response activities. Considering the worsening situation, the IRC aims to conduct a detailed Gender Impact Assessment to understand the basic facts about the GBV situation and the gendered impacts of the floods. This assessment will inform IRC and its partners in planning to improve emergency protection responses, aiming to meet the needs of survivors and diverse clients and reduce the vulnerability of women and girls to GBV in Garissa, Tana River, and Mandera counties.

4.2 Project Objectives

The objective of the consultancy is to:

Objective 1: Identify the scope and gendered impact of the floods, including direct and indirect effects on GBV, Protection, and how women, men, boys, and girls can access various services, resources and information.

Objective 2: Determine the various coping mechanisms, constraints, capabilities, and unique needs of women and men, including those with disabilities, to respond to the crisis across the range of protection and SRH needs, considering intersectionality.

Objective 3: Identify measures that enhance protection, GBV care, and support services, and prevent GBV through collaboration with clusters/sectors, the government, and other responsibility bearers.

4.3 Scope of Work

In liaison with the Women Protection and Empowerment (WPE) Program Team, SRH Program Team, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) team, guidance from UNFPA, and input from partners, the consultant will be required to:

1. Undertake a desk review of the gender situation in Garissa, Tana River, and Mandera.
2. Conduct consultations with relevant stakeholders and use the recommendations to enrich the assessment.
3. Conduct a validation exercise with stakeholders, including IRC.
4. Submit the approved assessment to IRC.

Using a feminist, diversity and inclusion approach, the gender impact assessment will gather information on the various needs, abilities, and coping mechanisms of men, women, boys, and girls. The following primary areas of inquiry will be the focus of data collection, with the consultant expected to develop data collection tools that capture sufficient information:

• Time use and Space: Analyzing how changes in time use and spatial dynamics, such as displacement and relocation, have affected gender roles and responsibilities during and after the floods.
• Decision-making and power dynamics in households: Investigating power dynamics within households and communities, and how these dynamics influence decision-making processes related to recovery and rebuilding efforts post-floods.
• Access to and control of resources and assets: Investigating how access to resources, services, and decision-making opportunities has been affected by the floods for women, men, girls and boys.
• Knowledge, Beliefs, and Perception: Examining how knowledge, beliefs, and perceptions about gender roles, disaster preparedness, and response have influenced individuals’ and communities’ ability to cope with and recover from the floods.
• Practices and Participation: Assessing how gendered practices and levels of participation in decision-making at household and community levels have been impacted by the floods.
• Legal Rights and Status: Evaluating the extent to which legal rights and social status, particularly concerning land ownership, inheritance, and protection from Gender-Based Violence (GBV), have been upheld or compromised due to the floods. The assessment should take into account how these intersecting identity variables affect women’s access to their rights and assess how violations of those rights relate to other forms of discrimination. The assessment should be conducted rigorously and robustly using appropriate statistical and qualitative analysis techniques.

4.4 Deliverables / Outputs

• An inception report defining the study approach, methodology, sampling criteria, and tools used for qualitative and quantitative data collection. The sampling plan should be inclusive of all demographic groups and take gender equality into account.
• A thorough and well-structured final gender impact assessment report not longer than 20 pages per county.
• Supplementary files, including photographs, original and cleaned datasets, and statistical output files.
• Presentations using PowerPoint and a fact sheet, abstract, or both to share results with stakeholders.
• Present the report to relevant parties, such as the protection and GBV, working groups, who will be asked to validate the findings and contribute.
• An executive summary of findings in Word and PowerPoint presentation format.

5.0 Date and Duration of Consultancy

The consultancy period shall be for 20 days. The complete report must be submitted to IRC within 5 days after the validation exercise.

Minimum Qualifications:

The ideal consultant should have:

• A post-graduate degree in Gender and Development, social sciences, or another relevant field.
• Over 5 years of experience conducting gender studies with evidence of publications or field reports on gender issues, with experience in women and adolescents programming.
• Demonstrated experience in conducting a gender impact assessment or a similar related assignment.
• Experience working collaboratively with government and other development partners.
• Experience working with diverse and special groups.
• Ability to communicate in English and Kiswahili; proficiency in local languages spoken in Garissa, Mandera, and Tana River is an added advantage.

The successful candidate will be required to:

• Follow protection guidelines when engaging with all participants in the assessment.
• Adhere to the organization policy of different partners involved in the assessment.
• Adhere to human rights, Protection Principles, socio-ecological, systems strengthening, and MHPSS approaches.
• Be guided by the spirit of collaboration, cooperation, partnerships, balance of power, and meaningful engagement of marginalized voices, including women, girls, young people, and persons living with disabilities, among others.

Consultants who meet the qualifications above must submit the following documents:

• A statement including a CV with experience details.
• Technical proposal summarizing understanding of ToR, methodology, and tools to be used.
• Work plan.
• Financial proposal providing cost estimates.
• Contact details of three organizations/previous clients.
• All required legal documents including VAT registration certificate.