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Tenders are invited for Gender Analysis in Akkar Closing Date: Wednesday, 22. Jan 2025 Intervention Sector(s): Children & Youth, Culture, Family, Gender issues, Health, Human Rights & Protection Remuneration range: > 6000 (USD) Duration of Contract: 3 months 1. Background Information on Plan International Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organization that advances childrens rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion, and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters, and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children. We support childrens rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national, and global levels using outreach, experience, and knowledge. We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 75 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries. Read more about Plan Internationals Global Strategy: 200 Million Reasons at https://plan-international.org/strategy About the commissioning office Plan International Lebanon (PIL) has had an operational office in Beirut since 2017 and received its registration in October 2019. Across the country, we work in partnership with local, national, and international organizations to strengthen capacities and address the needs of Lebanese and refugee children in Lebanon. With a focus on adolescent girls and young women, PIL implements projects in the sectors of child protection (CP) and Gender-based violence (GBV), Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), Education, Youth economic empowerment, and participation. The organization also promotes gender equality by addressing the root causes of discrimination against girls and young women. 2. Background/Context Lebanon is currently facing a complex crisis encompassing economic, political, and humanitarian dimensions, profoundly impacting its society and stability. With a significant influx of refugees and internally displaced citizens, the country is experiencing heightened poverty rates, particularly among vulnerable populations. The youth, in particular, face many challenges including limited access to education, employable skills, and job opportunities, leading to a high unemployment rate. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), crucial for the countrys economy, are also struggling due to decreased sales and limited access to financing. Additionally, many youth and especially girls and young women face stigma due to the existing social, cultural and gendered norms. To address these issues, the proposed project by PIL and Akkarouna aims to improve access to skills-based work opportunities and locally produced reusable sanitary pads for 200 vulnerable adolescent girls and young women in the Akkar region by the end of the project. Focusing on the acquisition of vocational skills, including entrepreneurship as well as life skills for at least 70% of the 200 young women involved through training and linking at least 150 participants with internship and salaried employment opportunities, and on challenging harmful social norms around menstruation, SRHR and gender equality through access to information and community mobilization on period poverty. The intervention aims to address durable solutions for period poverty in Lebanon and for the dire economic situation of girls and young women in Akkar region, in addition to challenging social and gendered norms around menstruation focusing on livelihood support and gender equality. The project integrates elements to promote womens economic empowerment, gender equality, and advocacy at the local and community level. It aligns with national, regional, and global response plans, including the new Lebanon Response Plan (LRP) and European donors priorities. Adopting a Humanitarian Development nexus approach, the project will coordinate with local authorities and stakeholders to address root causes of period poverty and gender inequalities. The intervention follows a gender-transformative approach to address discriminatory norms and empower women both economically and socially. 3. Description & Objectives Purpose As part of the implementation of a livelihood and Period poverty related project funded by the French Development Agency, Plan International Lebanon and its partner, Akkarouna, aims to conduct a gender analysis in Akkar region, with the aim of: Understanding and exploring gender norms, gender roles and responsibilities that shape women and mens participation in economic and social activities Patterns of time use, family responsibility, and decision-making processes at the household and community levels that support or hinder the economic empowerment and environment for girls and women in the targeted areas leading to the identification of key gender gaps and needs with a specific focus on livelihoods and sexual and reproductive rights particularly menstruation and its associated stigmas; Highlight systemic barriers to womens access to livelihoods, financial resources, and markets. Assess disparities in access to SRHR information and services, with a specific focus on menstruation-related challenges Examine intersectional vulnerabilities: understand how factors like age, marital status, disability, and socio-economic background intersect with gender to impact access to resources and opportunities Evaluate the role of men and boys in supporting or perpetuating harmful practices and norms Based on gender analysis, develop a set of recommendations that identifies ways of ensuring women economic empowerment in the targeted areas from a gender transformative lens; in addition to ways for challenging harmful practices around sexual and reproductive health, namely menstruation. Methodology/ Questions The study participants will be between the ages of 12 and 49, females and males, and of the following nationalities: Lebanese, Syrian refugees and Palestinian refugees, where applicable. We are restricting our study population to women in reproductive age in the aim of formulating a clearer understanding of their concerns and hinders from attending economic empowerment and access to SRHR information and services, namely menstruation, in addition to better understanding the effects of social norms and its linkage to stigmatization of this target population in the public sphere; in the area of Akkar governorate, specifically Al-Mehamra, Bebnine, Berkayel, Halba, Borj Al Arab, Miniara and Arqa, and others as deemed necessary. Key informant interviews (KIIs) will be conducted with selected informed individuals, in specific: UN and INGOs representatives (including members in inter-agency working groups, livelihood & social stability and SRHR SWG), health workers (namely involved in SRHR), social workers, local actors such as heads of community-based organizations or active committees working with young women and women. These key informants will provide their insight on the issue given their field experience with the population of interest. Data collection Methods Data will be gathered through Key Informant interviews (KIIs), focus group discussions (FGD) following consent and assent and other participatory tools that can be used to guide discussions with youth like problem analysis tree, community mapping etc. Potential participants who do not mind discussing their concerns in a group setting will be invited to attend an FGD and will be informed of the venue in which the meeting will take place, as well as the date and time. The goal of conducting the FGDs is to capture the general and shared concerns and hinders of adolescent and women participants information and services available to them. The findings will be triangulated by comparing the information learned during the FGDs with the insight of field experts provided through KIIs and secondary data. Interview guides For this assessment, the consultant will prepare interview guides, with different questions for participants in FGDs and KIIs. The guides will be developed based on PILs guidelines and following Plans Gender, Age and Inclusion Analytical Framework and will consider the participants educational levels and ages. The topics in these guides will cover: access to SRHR services, income generating opportunities, decision-making on household and community levels, role in the community and possible ways for effective engagement, recommendations to programming, and others (incl. the stigmatization related to menstruation and the effect of the taboo on mental health, discrimination, etc. Recruitment and Sampling Methods Purposive sampling strategy will be adopted to recruit participants through Plans partners in the six study locations, as their centers host adolescents and young adults through community activities or educational or health services. Selection criteria will be set and Plan Lebanon will facilitate the contact between selected consultant and partners to proceed with selection and scheduling data collection. Partners will support in setting the logistics and informing eligible individuals of the details of the assessment. Interested individuals will then be recruited by the assessment team and allocated to their respective group. Interviewing diverse groups of participants will help to collect a wide range of information from different points of views and build themes. Therefore, a minimum of 36 FGDs will be conducted with adolescents and young adults divided by age, gender, and location (inclusive of Tender Link : https://daleel-madani.org/civil-society-directory/plan-international/calls/gender-analysis-akkar
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