Gender Analysis (RGA) in Libya

POST TITLE: RGA Consultant

START & DURATION: 1st July to 19th August 2022

REPORTING LINE: Gender Lead, CARE Germany

CARE International’s Humanitarian Mandate is to meet the immediate needs of disaster-affected women and girls and their families in the poorest communities in the world in a way that also addresses the underlying causes of people’s vulnerability. CARE recognizes the link between poverty and gender inequality and the need for humanitarian organizations to design, plan and respond to the needs of affected women, girls, men and boys in ways that promote gender equality. In order to address the systemic and structural practices that create barriers to the realization of women’s rights and gender equality; including prevention of and response to gender based violence (GBV) and sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), Care recognizes the importance of working with girls and women in a way that supports their empowerment and of actively engaging men and boys as allies in the prevention of GBV.

Purpose of Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) Gender analysis is the systematic attempt to identify key issues contributing to gender inequalities, many of which also contribute to poor development outcomes. This process explores how gendered power relations give rise to discrimination, subordination, and exclusion in society, particularly when overlaid across other areas of marginalization due to class, ethnicity, caste, age, disability status, sexuality, etc. The gender analysis process seeks to collect, identify, examine, and analyze information on the different roles of people across genders. Gender analysis primarily seeks to understand these three questions:

• What are gendered-related rights denials in a given context? How do unequal gender relations, gendered discrimination, subordination, and exclusion influence rights denials? How do these rights abuses intersect with other areas of discrimination – based on ethnicity, culture, class, age, disability, etc.?
• How will gender relations affect the achievement of sustainable results? For example, if the project’s sustainable result is increased productivity among female smallholder farmers, then gendered norms in household divisions of labor, and workloads may greatly influence production outcomes,
• How will proposed results affect the relative status of men and women? Will it exacerbate or reduce inequalities?

Country background

The protracted crisis in Libya with more than ten years of ongoing instability, armed conflict and insecurity continues to aggravate the humanitarian situation in the country. Libya ranks 105 out of 189 countries on the UNDP’s 2019 Human Development Index.

Since the end of the Gaddafi regime in 2011, a multitude of rivalling actors and armed groups have taken advantage of the power vacuum. The UN-led peace process has not been able to accomplish persistent results of national unification. Following an escalation of the armed conflict in 2019, a ceasefire agreement was signed outlining a transition process and scheduling democratic elections for December 2021. However, these elections were postponed indefinitely due to power struggles between the Government of National Unity’s (GNU) interim prime minister Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba and Fathi Bashaga, the parallelly elected, opposition party’s candidate. In addition, foreign powers continue to exert influence over the country. Turkey, the UAE and Russia represent key actors supplying arms and backing rivalling local parties, often seen as security guarantors upholding the fragile balance of power.

UN OCHA estimates that 823,000 people in Libya are currently in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of the persisting political instability, a dysfunctional economy, and conflict and insecurity. Approximately half of the people in need are refugees or migrants in or transiting through Libya. While decreasing, the number of IDPs remains high with an estimate of 168,011 individuals, as of January 2022 still displaced and facing heightened insecurity. Key humanitarian needs are identified as 1) protection, 2) access to critical services (i.e., healthcare, education, water and sanitation), and 3) access to basic goods (i.e., food and essential non-food items).

Since the beginning of the conflict, essential services, particularly in the health sector, have deteriorated significantly, further exacerbated by the spread of COVID-19. The public health system has collapsed in many places and suffers from fragmentation, poor governance and lack of transparency in the allocation of funds. More than 50% of health care facilities that were functioning in 2019 have since closed, especially in rural areas, mainly because of security threats and funding shortfalls.

Specific vulnerable groups face their own unique challenges. Sexual and reproductive health care is scarce and of poor quality, maternal and postnatal care is inadequate and GBV services are poor and difficult to access, putting women’s health and wellbeing at considerable risk. Women comprise 34% of the population-in-need. Services for people with disabilities, who account for 15% of those in need, are concentrated in large cities and are hardly available in rural areas. Vulnerable groups, particularly women, have limited influence over decision-making processes, which combined with economic and political disadvantage, only deepens their marginalization.

The complex and multifaceted problems in Libya, entrenched in decades of vulnerabilities, fragility, conflicts, economic deterioration and institutional decay, necessitate for an integrated approach. The situation further warrants for programing options that address the root causes while meeting the urgent humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable population.

To contribute to mitigating the impact of the conflict on vulnerable communities, CARE is undertaking a program supported by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) which is implemented jointly with Action Against Hunger (ACF). The project aims at improving the resilience of vulnerable rural communities by ensuring access to rehabilitated, enhanced and sustainable primary and specialized Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child health services.

Rational for RGA in Libya

A Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA) provides information about the different needs, capacities and coping strategies of women, men, boys and girls in a crisis situation. It does this in part by examining the relationships between women, men, boys and girls. An RGA is built up progressively, providing an initial but incomplete analysis of gender relations in an emergency, and links to more in-depth Gender and Power Analysis using the CARE Good Practice Framework. An RGA is also used to make recommendations to ensure that CARE comprehensively meets the needs of everyone involved in the crisis. The Rapid Gender Analysis has been used by CARE in more than 20 countries in large-scale emergencies and more than 30 countries in their preparedness phase.

The Rapid Gender Analysis in Libya is being carried out to inform a BMZ-funded 4-year programme “Improving the Health Resilience of Rural Communities in Libya.” CARE Germany will be working with its partners Action Against Hunger (ACF) and Libyan NGO International Organisation for Consulting and Services (IOCS). The programme will be implemented from 2022-2026 in 10 locations in rural Tripoli and rural Sabha, with the objective that “Rehabilitated, enhanced and sustainable primary and specialist Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Chid Health (SRMNCH) services, and community-based activism and accountability, improve the health outcomes and resilience of vulnerable rural communities in Libya”.

The five desired impacts of the project are:

1. Increased availability of rehabilitated and capacitated primary health services in rural areas that meet basic standards, and provides an enhanced model of SRMNCH quality of care and referrals for women, girls and people with disabilities.
2. Increased availability and access to clean and safe delivery, life-saving emergency obstetric and newborn care (EmoNC) and other critical services for women and girls in rural areas.
3. Vulnerable women, girls and other marginalized groups have improved health behaviours and self-reliance, social capital is strengthened, and households and communities show greater support for gender equality and can better withstand shocks.
4. Primary and specialist services (public and private) are more responsive to needs of vulnerable members of rural communities, and communities more actively engage, support and hold these services accountable.
5. Health authorities provide sufficient and sustainable allocation of resources for SRMNCAH services, are more resilient and institutionalize care in rural communities

Description of Rapid Gender Analysis

1. Objectives of Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA)

   1. Analyse the level, type and extent of changes that have occurred and are taking place at the household and community level in relation to gender and power differentials (structure, relations and agency). Unravel the reasons/factors behind those perceived changes, or lack thereof before and after the crisis. CARE is cognizant of unintended negative effects of promoting gender equity in household and communal decision-making roles. This analysis is expected to capture what type and level of female engagement and empowerment is possible without jeopardising their safety and security. Additionally, the analysis will capture decision-making functions, roles and examples that have positively contributed to female coping behaviours.
   2. Capture the methods, techniques and approaches that have worked in reaching and supporting vulnerable females and males of different ages and people with disabilities in the areas of (rapid/emergency response, cash for work/food security, livelihoods, Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Chid Health (SRMNCH) and Protection/GBV).
   3. Review the functionality of formal or informal support structures established for GBV survivors of any age.
   4. Develop a set of actionable recommendations short and medium-term, based on key findings. Recommendations should echo and emphasize the direct asks, requests, and demands from the women and marginalized groups affected by the crisis. Recommendations should be presented based on the targeted audience (humanitarian organisations) with sector specific recommendations included.

2. What will be included in the Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA)

   1. A comprehensive desk review drawing on secondary data, grey literature and published documents provided by CARE Country Office as well as collected by the report writer to obtain a bigger access to the published and non-published documents. The desk review should serve to capture the recent or current status of females and young males, in terms of agency, structure and relations in order to address the following questions:

• What are gendered-related rights denials in a given context?
• How do unequal gender relations, gendered discrimination, subordination, and exclusion influence rights denials?
• How do these rights abuses intersect with other areas of discrimination – based on ethnicity, culture, class, age, disability and so on?
• How will gender relations affect the achievement of sustainable results?
• How will proposed results affect the relative status of men and women? Will it exacerbate or reduce inequalities?
  1. An analysis of consultant-collected primary data to shed light on perceived changes in agency, structure and relations, capturing changes, if any, in cultural norms and practices, division of labour, decision-making practices and opportunities for meaningful engagement/empowerment and equity related to accessing and benefitting from humanitarian aid and resilience interventions before and after the crisis. Changes will be assessed based on RGA participants’ perceptions from pre- crisis to now.
  2. Provide a list of clear actionable recommendations for protection, gender equality mainstreaming, and gender-focused programming, including references on how existing programming can be improved in relation to gender equity

1. Target group of the Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA)

The RGA Assessment tools use purposive sampling. This means that included groups are selected according to specific characteristics, in this case gender and age, which are important related to vulnerability. Sites are selected to gather information from women, men, boys and girls at different locations (different communities) and from different groups (ethnic, religious, etc.). The consultant will work with CARE Germany to identify sampling groups within the project communities.

1. Scope of the Rapid Gender Analysis (RGA)

The scope of this assignment is to conduct a comprehensive desk review of available secondary data/literature, complete data analysis from consultant-collected primary data, triangulate findings and write two maximum 10-page RGA reports (one for Tripoli, one for Sabha), including key practical programming and operational recommendations to support the design of the activities and improve CARE gender mainstreaming and inclusion approach.

The project will be implemented in 5 locations in rural Tripoli, and 5 locations in rural Sabha. The consultant will work with CARE Germany to identify which locations will be sampled to ensure that the different needs and experiences of key participant groups are gathered and analysed in the RGA.

The study will focus on changes, both unintended negative and positive, as well as opportunities and entry points for CARE to implement the gender equitable benefits from humanitarian and recovery resources provided by CARE implementing partners.

Elements of the analysis will include:

• The effects of a protracted conflict on females and males of different ages and disabilities.
• The effects of price inflation for food and basic amenities on females and males of different ages and (dis)abilities.
• Access to, ownership of, and benefit from resources disaggregated by gender, age and disability as well as other aspects of diversity available in data.
• Access to health services and humanitarian assistance, including control and decision-making power over resources.
• The effects from the intersectionality of gender, age, disability and other diversity factors.
• Shifts in engagement in economic governance structures, including description and distinctions of roles, power, and authority.
• Changes in household dependencies to meet needs because of the conflict.
• How changes (positive/negative) in roles and responsibilities related to household and care tasks, and social engagement in formal and informal spheres have impacted on the target groups (basic needs, coping strategies, physical needs, psychosocial/self-esteem) by drawing on CARE’s Gender Equality Framework.
• Changes, if any, with perceptions of the gendered social norms in the community by drawing on CARE’s Gender Equality Framework.
• Changes in trends around gender-based violence such as changes in early or forced marriage, intimate partner violence, and opportunities to mitigate risk (via secondary data).
• Gendered impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
• A succinct description of coping/risk-reducing behaviours used by females of any age, boys and elderly males.

1. Table 1: Sequence and process: technical oversight of the Gender Analysis

The below chart is an outline of the steps usually required for an RGA process. This should be adapted by the consultant in their application, with inclusion of proposed number of days for each step.

Step

Activity

Description

1

Scoping Exercise

Preparation for the RGA – meetings are set with CARE staff to clarify mutual expectations, scope of work, quality of deliverables, procedures for exchanging information and documents, feedback processes (timelines, RACI framework for communications and responsibilities, feedback on report). After this exercise, the consultant is expected to come up with a detailed schedule and workplan.

2

Literature review & Summation of critical data drawn from secondary data

Review of relevant documentation. Existing secondary data sources captured in published documents/websites, HNO, security and population data, health cluster updates. Internal CARE documents: previous assessments, projects proposals, key partner updates/reports/assessments.

The desk review report should be written and presented to a high quality, containing summary tables/matrices that pull together data, findings, and analyses.

The focus of the desk review should be guided by:

1. Objectives of the RGA
2. The BMZ project feeding the Rapid Gender Analysis.

3

Develop RGA research tools

Review of RGA research tool templates, including key informant interviews, focus group discussions, individual stories, mapping exercises, survey questionnaires, gender and protection audits, data disaggregation tools and consent forms. Select and adapt research tools to the context and scope of the BMZ project in Libya.

5

Develop training materials and facilitate training of enumerators

Develop training materials for training of enumerators to implement the selected RGA research tools. Facilitate training of enumerators in the selected tools, as well as relevant approaches and practices (e.g. gender-sensitive, survivor-centred).

6

Data collection process

Data collection, including regular check-ins and troubleshooting while enumerators are in the field. Transcriptions from digital and manual notetaking in the field.

7

Data processing and analysis

Triangulation, validation, and analysis of key findings.

8

Writing report

Report writing based on key findings. See details in section on deliverables.

1. Deliverables

• A detailed schedule and work plan (to submit during inception phase)
• Adapted RGA primary data research tools
• Two maximum 10-page Rapid Gender Analysis reports (one for Tripoli, one for Sabha) in English, including actionable and short- to medium-term recommendations.

All deliverables must be sent to CARE Germany by 19th August 2022.

1. Support and Reporting Arrangements

The CARE Germany Gender Lead and Start-Up Manager will support with:

• Providing the consultant with relevant background papers and template research tools.
• Reviewing deliverables of the consultant in terms of quality of reporting, timeliness of work undertaken and scope/relevancy of recommendations.

1. Consultant Profile

This assignment requires a consultant who has conducted at least two Gender Analyses in the past. The consultant should be experienced in leading the design, implementation, and reporting phases of this analysis, and managing teams of enumerators in hard-to-reach areas.

Experience and knowledge

• 5 to 8 years of humanitarian and/or development experience, either project management in complex settings or the provision of technical assistance in gender-related work.
• Previous experience in conducting gender analysis or rapid gender analysis and Gender Action Plans.
• Strong technical background in qualitative and quantitative research and assessment methods, including digital data collection tools.
• Experience in remote management of enumerators in hard-to-reach contexts.
• A good working background in protection and safeguarding mainstreaming, and Gender in Emergencies.
• Proven familiarity of gender integration/mainstreaming in one or more of the following: Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Chid Health (SRMNCH), Protection/GBV, cash-based interventions, livelihoods.
• Advanced level of written and English comprehension.
• Good understanding of Libya context. An understanding of women’s empowerment programming and CARE’s Gender Equality Framework is an asset.

Advanced university degree or equivalent in social studies, international relations, Human Rights Law, or another related field.

How to apply

Applicants are requested to send:

• Their CVs, including a list of previously conducted gender analyses.
• A proposal of how they would manage the consultancy, including proposed working methodology, plan, timeline and number of days.
• Consultant’s availability and commitment to schedule statement.
• Contact details (for individuals/organisation/company)

Interested candidates (organisation, consultancy company or freelance consultant(s)) should submit their applications before the given deadline to both Imogen Davies ([email protected]) and Nawras Alhusein ([email protected]), with the subject: Libya Rapid Gender Analysis. Applications should be sent to by June 1st, 2022.

For any additional information on the application process and consultancy, please contact Imogen Davies ([email protected]).