United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (Ethiopia)

National Consultant-Develop a trauma informed Income Generating Activity (IGA) model for survivors of Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG)

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Last update: Jan 5, 2022 Last update: Jan 5, 2022

Details

Deadline: Jan 13, 2022 Deadline for applications has passed
Location: Ethiopia Ethiopia
Job type:Contract, up to 4 months
Languages:
Amharic, EnglishAmharic, English
Work experience: Min 10 years
Date posted:Jan 5, 2022
Expected starting date:Jan 17, 2022

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Description

Background

Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) is one of the most systematic, widespread human rights violations faced globallyThe effects of trauma are substantial, impacting women’s and girls’ physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, and economic well-being. Despite this reality, current services and service systems are inadequate in identifying and meeting the needs of women affected by trauma, mental health, and substance abuse. About 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. Women and girls face physical, emotional, and sexual abuses that undermine their health and ability to earn livelihoods; disrupt their social systems and relationships; and particularly for girls, robs them of their childhood and education.

According to EDHS 2016, at least one out of every three women in Ethiopia has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime, by an intimate partner. The impact of violence ranges from immediate to long-term physical, sexual, and mental health consequences on women and girls, including death. It negatively affects women’s well-being and prevents women from fully participating in society denying them their participation in educational, employment, social, opportunities. According to the rapid assessment that was done during the development of the National Standard Operating Procedures for shelters, there are about 15 shelters run by civil society organizations. These shelters provide rehabilitation and reintegration services to women and girls survivors of violence in accordance with international standards. They provide secure accommodation where women and girls who are at risk of or have been subjected to violence obtain comprehensive services required for their rehabilitation, empowerment, and reintegration. Research and practice suggest that the way services are provided has a significant impact on their effectiveness. Shelters are institutions that provide essential aspects of protection, services and resources such as medical support, legal support, psychosocial counseling, vocational skill trainings, life skill training, Income Generating Activities (IGA) and other services which enable women who have experienced abuse and their children to recover from the trauma, to rebuild self-esteem and take steps to regain a self -determined and independent life.

The essential services package entails the implementation of survivor-centered approaches placing the rights, needs and desires of women and girls as the center of focus for service delivery. This requires consideration of the multiple needs of survivor, the various risks and vulnerabilities, the impact of decisions and actions taken, and ensures services are tailored to the unique requirements of each individual women and girl. Services should respond to the trauma that these women and girls face and also should work towards creating a safe environment where survivors can not only recover from the trauma they faced but also become resilient and empowered. Trauma-informed services involve understanding, anticipating, and responding to the issues, expectations, and special needs that survivors who have been victimized may have in a particular setting or service. At a minimum, trauma informed services endeavor to do no harm – to avoid retraumatizing survivors or blaming them for their efforts to manage their traumatic reactions.

According to the rapid assessment that was done in 2019 during the development of the national SOP for shelters, the shelters under the Ethiopian Network of Women Shelters (ENWS) have different IGA practices and approaches. One of the problems identified in the provision of this service was lack of uniformity in terms of quality and capacity across the Income generating activities and economic empowerment strategies implemented by the different shelters. In many cases, vocational skill trainings are provided in shelter. In some cases, these services are outsourced to institutions outside the shelters. Limitations of the types of trainings provided for survivors were mentioned as a challenge by shelter staffs and survivors. It was indicated that the limitations of choices and the fact that it is not led by the preferences of the survivors affects its effectiveness and sustainability. In cases where the felt needs of survivors cannot be easily identified, survivors end up learning a vocational stream that they are not interested in. Also, there are cases stated by some of the shelters where survivors get involved in businesses that they have no interest in just so that they can make money but in most of these cases, they end up quitting. One of the issues identified in the rapid assessment to be one of the factors for this was the blocking/limiting beliefs that some survivors have towards their capacity to succeedhandover regardless of the individual and group counseling they receive. And this was identified to be one of the core factors that contributed to the high turnover of survivors from the work force once they are reintegrated.

This reveals the need to put in place a trauma informed income generating activity model for existing shelters as well as shelter that will be opened to provide services to women and girls survivors of violence. Trauma-informed interventions refer to trauma treatments that have been researched and are evidenced-based or, at least, promising practices. Such interventions are conducted by professionals trained in the specific modality. Trauma-specific interventions include cognitive processing therapy, trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy, crisis intervention stress debriefing (CISD), eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR), and prolonged exposure (PE). The development of the trauma informed Income Generating Activity (IGA) model will ensure that the IGA practices throughout the shelters are survivor centered, trauma informed, trauma sensitive and trauma specific, non-blaming, and support women and girls who are survivors to consider the range of choices available to them and support their decisions. Trauma informed IGA model requires a shift in mindset from “What’s wrong with you?” to asking, “What happened to you and how can I help? and applying trauma-informed principles: safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, collaboration, and cultural and gender responsiveness across our agencies we increase engagement, motivation, and participation. A program, organization, or system that is trauma-informed realizes the widespread impact of trauma and understands potential paths for recovery; recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma in clients, families, staff, and others involved with the system; and responds by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, and practices, and seeks to actively resist re-traumatization

This trauma informed IGA model will thus be designed to address specific behavioral, intra-psychic, and interpersonal consequences of exposure to different forms of violence while building the survivors capacity to engage in income generating activity that is based on their interest, abilities, and strengths. Working with a survivor to respond to a wide range of needs, and to enhance her existing strengths and supports may include building linkages, facilitating access, advocacy, building coping skills, resilience, assistance in problem-solving with significant others, building her support system and strengthening her resiliency. To this end, UN Women Ethiopia is seeking to hire a national consultant composed of a team of professionals with a background in psychology and business (entrepreneurship) who will be working on the development of a trauma informed IGA model which will be implemented during the rehabilitation of survivors in the shelters of ENWS.

Duties and Responsibilities

The main expected activities to be undertaken by the national consultants include:

Develop a work plan and submit to UN Women Ethiopia.
Present the report at the inception meeting and incorporate feedback.
Submit draft of the trauma informed IGA model.
Incorporate inputs and submit the revised trauma informed IGA model to UN Women Ethiopia.
Submit the both the English and Amharic version of the trauma informed model
Present the revised report in the validation workshop.
Integrate inputs and submit final English and Amharic version of the trauma informed IGA model to UN Women in both hard and soft copies.
Consultation and supervision sessions of the implementation of the model will be provided to IGA and rehabilitation officers throughout the shelters and a follow-up report to be submitted to UN Women

Competencies

Core values

Respect for Diversity
Integrity
Professionalism

Core competencies

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
Accountability
Creative Problem Solving
Effective Communication
Inclusive Collaboration
Stakeholder Engagement
Leading by Example

Functional Competencies:

Strong knowledge of gender equality and women’s rights issues
Excellent level of conceptual and analytical capacity
Ability to work in a team
Ability to write in a clear and concise manner and to communicate effectively
Demonstrates use of initiative and ability to make appropriate linkages in work requirements
Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback
Meets deadlines for delivery of products or services
Able to work virtually, using communication technologies
Strong interpersonal skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education

The lead consultant must have master’s degree in Psychology, Counselling, Social work, or any other related advanced degree in social sciences.

Expierence

At least ten years of direct psychosocial/counseling experience on VAWG with a reputable organization; experience working with survivors of violence is preferred;
The consultant must have the experience in facilitating/coaching and training personnel’s’ dealing with GBV/VAWG survivors in their respective tasks in a professional, respectful and supportive manner.
The national consultant should bring another expert with masters degree in business administration, management, marketing, economics, development studies or other related fields.
One of the consultants should have at least five years’ experience in business development, entrepreneurship, small scale business development, business training and/or technical support
Knowledge of violence against women and girls in both development and humanitarian settings, including relevant international human rights standards
A strong expertise in the area of service required
Previous working experience with United Nations is desirable

Language

Fluency in English and Amharic (oral and written) is required.
Computer skills: full command of Microsoft applications (word, excel, PowerPoint) and data encoding software.