Research with Parents for Children's Online Safety

Terre des Hommes Nederland (TdH NL) is a children's rights organisation working towards a world in which children can grow up free from all forms of exploitation. We protect children by preventing and ending exploitation, while empowering them to have their voices heard. By addressing root causes, we develop scalable, evidence-based solutions that contribute to systemic change.

TdH NL is launching a project that focuses on empowering parents and caregivers to protect children from the risks of online sexual exploitation (OCSE) in the Netherlands. The aim is to improve parents’ knowledge, attitudes and skills to recognise, report and respond to risks of OCSE, while also providing them with access to institutional and community support.

There are already initial ideas for the methodology, which can easily be transferred to a research protocol. The objectives of this consultancy are:

Involving 50 parents and caregivers in the Netherlands (according to the protocol);
Potentially involve children and young people (according to the protocol);
Thematic analysis of the data from these methods;
Writing a report to inform a project that increases the capacities of parents and caregivers to protect children from online risks and OCSE.

Output

The consultant is responsible for delivering the following results:

Improving and finalizing the research methodology to engage research participants;
Improving and finalizing a risk assessment and mitigation plan for safeguarding, ensuring the safety and well-being of all participants and researchers;
Apply for ethical approval via an Institutional Review Board of a Dutch university;
Recruit, select and prepare research participants;
Prepare logistics for carrying out the data collection methods;
Conduct focus group discussions with parents and caregivers to understand the risks, attitudes and needs related to OCSE in the online environment (and possibly data collection with children);
Provide raw data, including verbatim transcriptions in the original language and English translation;
Conduct thematic analysis of the data and produce a report with insights and recommendations to inform programs to empower parents and caregivers in protecting their children from OCSE;
Develop and conduct a validation activity with participants to ensure that the project findings align with their experiences and perspectives.


Timeline

The project will be launched as soon as possible, with data collection activities taking place in the last months of 2024 and the validation exercise in January 2025. The consultant will work closely with the TdH NL research team and the Thematic Programme Team on Child Sexual Exploitation.

Profile

The desired candidate can be an individual, group or organization and must have:

Extensive experience in participatory action research, preferably on topics such as children's rights, child protection or online safety.
Strong understanding of intersectionality and its role in shaping OCSE risk and protective factors.
Demonstrable experience in developing and leading focus groups, interviews and collaborative sessions with diverse and vulnerable groups.
The ability to communicate fluently in Dutch, as data collection methods with Dutch parents and caregivers (and possibly children) must be conducted in their native language.
The ability to communicate and prepare reports in English and translate the findings into English.
A commitment to child protection procedures and the ability to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct.
For organisations, there should be no conflict of interest. A due diligence check will be part of the selection procedure. As a children's rights organisation, we apply the highest standards of safeguarding to protect children. This is reflected in our recruitment process. 

Application

Candidates must submit the following documents:

CV with references demonstrating the relevant experience and expertise of anyone who would work on this project.
Motivation letter explaining interest in the project, skills and experience.
A brief proposal for this project, including:Your daily consultancy rate
An approach/work plan with estimated duration and associated costs for each of the 9 deliverables, with special attention to recruiting and engaging research respondents and monitoring their well-being and safety
 
Submit your application before October 20, 2024.