TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR CONSULTANCY SERVICES

MAPPING OF SOCIAL NORMS AND TESTED TRANSFORMATIVE INTERVENTIONS IN ADDRESSING SEXUAL AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE (SGBV) IN RWANDA.

Organisation and Background information:

The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation is a Swedish non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering women in conflict affected areas by enhancing their power and influence. Kvinna till Kvinna’s approach emphasizes strong local ownership and long-term support.

Kvinna till Kvinna has been present in Rwanda since 2017 and promotes human rights for all women. One of the focus areas of emphasis is strengthening women’s economic empowerment, for them to access opportunities for education, enter labour market, access financial resources and become financially independent.

Kvinna till Kvinna is currently implementing a one-year project funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation, titled “Exploring and Challenging Specific Social Norms Underlying Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in 19 Districts of Rwanda”. The districts include Musanze, Ruhango, Rubavu, Huye, Gakenke, Bugesera, Kayonza, Rwamagana, Gasabo, Nyarugenge, Karongi, Gatsibo, Nyagatare, Burera, Kamonyi, Kirehe, Gisagara, Nyanza and Kicukiro. The project has 2 outcomes; 1) Increased understanding and awareness of harmful social and gender norms that contribute to SGBV among key stakeholders in Rwanda, 2) Enhanced capacity of partner organizations to challenge and transform harmful social norms that perpetuate SGBV.

Rationale:

Rwanda has made significant strides in establishing a progressive legal and policy framework to address Gender-Based Violence (GBV), including the Law No. 59/2008 on Prevention and Punishment of GBV and the National Policy against GBV of 2021. These frameworks are part of Rwanda’s broader efforts to tackle the unique complexities of GBV, and to integrate existing laws and policies aimed at protecting women and girls. To ensure implementation of these laws, the government of Rwanda has established key institutions and mechanisms, such as the Gender Monitoring Office (GMO), the Gender Desk at the Rwanda National Police (RNP), and Isange One Stop Centers (IOSCs), which provide comprehensive support to GBV survivors across the country.

However, despite these commendable efforts, all forms of GBV including SGBV remain pervasive. According to the 2019/2020 Rwanda Demographic Health Survey (DHS), 37% of women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence, while 23% have faced sexual violence. One critical factor contributing to the persistence of SGBV in Rwanda is the deeply entrenched patriarchal system, which fosters harmful social norms. This creates a culture of tolerance toward abuse while silencing victims and reducing accountability of perpetrators.

Despite the predominance of harmful social norms and their significant influence on SGBV, there remains a notable lack of documentation and feminist analysis of the norms that sustain this violence.

Most of the current programming including that of Kvinna till Kvinna’s current 15 partner organisations often addresses the symptoms of violence rather than tackling the root causes including harmful social norms.

It is regarding the above-mentioned, Kvinna till Kvinna intends to conduct a mapping of social norms and tested transformative interventions in addressing SGBV in Rwanda. The mapping will provide evidence-based insights that can inform future programming, and interventions aimed at improving SGBV programming that challenges those social norms and promotes gender equality in Rwanda.

Objective of the assignment:

The assignment overall goal is to conduct a mapping to identify social norms that fuel Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Rwanda, identify tested effective SGBV interventions, and provide evidence-based recommendations for improving SGBV prevention programming and strengthening community engagement to transform harmful norms, promote gender equality, and prevent violence across 19 Districts of Rwanda.

Specific Objectives

The mapping aims to achieve the following: -

• Identify and document negative / harmful social and gender norms that underly Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Rwanda;
• Determine and document positive social and gender norms that can support the fight against SGBV and promote gender equality in Rwanda
• Understand the drivers, reinforcers, and consequences of these negative and positive norms
• Identify and assess existing tested efforts to challenge and transform harmful social norms that underly GBV, including community-based initiatives, media initiatives, and government programmes,
• Provide recommendations for behavioral and policy interventions
• Reinforce Kvinna till Kvinna Partner organizations’ capacity to design and implement targeted interventions that challenge and transform harmful social norms related to SGBV.
• Share the mapping findings with interested stakeholders like CSOs and other key stakeholders.

Scope of work

The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks to ensure the successful completion of the mapping of social norms and transformative interventions in addressing Sexual and Gender based Violence in Rwanda: -

• The consultant will provide inception report to Kvinna till Kvinna and hold a meeting to review the ToR for alignment and agreeing on the deliverables approach as indicated the inception report
• Utilize participatory methods to conduct surveys, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews with rights holders and duty bearers such as women, men, youth, survivors of SGBV, local leaders and other community members working with Kvinna till Kvinna partners as well as key stakeholders like CSOs and concerned government institutions. The consultant will ensure marginalized groups' voices are included
• The consultant will produce and submit a draft of the final report of the assignment to Kvinna till Kvinna team for review and feedback
• The consultant will present the findings during a validation workshop with different key stakeholders and receive feedback
• The Consultant will produce and submit a final report incorporating feedback given during the validation.
• The consultant will facilitate a strategy workshop for 15 Kvinna till Kvinna partner organisations (2 participants from each organisation) to analyse the identified harmful and positive social norms, tested transformative initiatives and work with them to develop methodologies for adaptation in programming
• The consultant will accompany and support partner organisations to begin to adapt and/or integrate the methodologies and approaches into their existing programmes based on the unique context and priorities of each partner

Deliverables

The consultant will be expected to deliver the following: -

• Inception report detailing the methodology, work plan, and data collection tools within 5 days after contract signing. Broadly, the inception report should bring out the following: Detailed plan of actions and timeline of the assignment.
• A well-designed framework for conducting the assessment, including methodologies, tools, and data collection strategies.
• Preliminary findings report for validation.
• Comprehensive final report, including detailed findings, analysis, and recommendations.
• A report from the strategy workshop highlighting the proceedings and outcomes of the workshop
• A report sharing support and outcomes of the accompaniment of partners as they integrated transformative methodologies and approaches into their existing programmes.

Duration and Timeline

The consultancy will span approximately 5 months, with key milestones to be determined in collaboration with Kvinna till Kvinna.

Consultant qualifications and experience

a) Education:

Advanced university degree (a master’s degree) or equivalent in gender studies, social anthropology, law and women’s rights, Economics, sociology, public health, or other related field to the prevention of Sexual harassment and violence.

b) Relevant experience, knowledge and skills:

• At least 5 years of proven and extensive knowledge and experience in developing report, survey and study particularly in the context of SGBV or gender related issues;
• Strong knowledge of the social norms, cultural, and gender dynamics and context in Rwanda particularly in relation to SGBV;
• Proven experience in consulting and research from a gender perspective;
• Experience with civil society advocacy for women’s human rights;
• Knowledge and work experience in Rwanda is advantage;
• Flexible work attitude: the ability to work productively in a team environment as well as independently, and the ability to handle requests or issues as they arise.
• Fluency in Kinyarwanda and English (Written & Oral) is required.

NB: For the consultancy firms their truck record in consultancy services will be vital and the CVs for individuals constituting the team will be the primary focus during the evaluation process. Presenting a recent study assessment on gender will be an added advantage.

The application file should contain the following documents:

• A technical proposal, including a description of the proposed methodology detailing how the deliverables will be achieved with a clear timeframe and detailed Curriculum Vitae of the proposed team to carry out the assignment with clear roles and functions in this assignment.
• Financial offer detailing various costs associated with the delivery of the above services, in PDF.
• The financial proposal must be a separate document from the technical proposal.
• Minimum 3 certificates of similar work done in the past.
• Company profile; VAT registration certificate; RRA tax clearance certificate; RSSB tax clearance certificate

Submission

Interested candidates should submit documents to Kvinna till Kvinna no later than  04^th April 2025 by email to esperance.umulisa@kvinnatillkvinna.se, For questions, please contact vedastine.izere.mugeni@kvinnatillkvinna.se