TERMS OF REFERENCEFOR SERVICE CONTRACTING

Assignment / Conduct a national study on the extent of violence against children at homes, schools and the neighborhoods
Location / Amman, Jordan
Duration / Four months
Estimate number of working days / 63
Reporting to / Chief Child Protection and Chief of Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation
  1. JUSTIFICATION/BACKGROUND

Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child requires States to take all appropriate measures to protect children from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect and maltreatment, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parents or legal guardians or any other person who has the care of the child. Millions of children in the world are physically, sexually and emotionally abused within the home. Violence includes all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligence treatment, or corporal punishment. The impact of violence could be dramatic and lead to the perpetration of future acts of violence by the victims. It constitutes a violation of child rights and can lead to short- and long-term physical and mental health problems. Violence against children exists in all countries, cutting across boundaries of culture, race and religion. All forms of violence are interrelated and the root causes of violence are often the same wherever it occurs.

The United Nations Secretary General appointed an Independent Expert to lead a global study on Violence Against Children. The 2007 Study, rooted in children’s human rights to protection from all forms of violence, aims at promoting action to prevent and eliminate violence against children at international, regional, national and local levels. The Study is a UN-led collaboration, mandated by theGeneral Assembly to draw together existing research and relevant information about the forms, causes and impact of violence which affects children and young people (up to the age of 18 years). The Study Report was published in 2006 and recommendations presented to the UN General Assembly. Stemming from the belief that all violence against children is preventable, UNICEF Jordan initiated a study in 2007 to investigate violence against children in Jordan, its scale and range. This was achieved by collecting data against well-defined indicators related to all forms of violence such as punishment and psychological violence (verbal and nonverbal and financial exploitation), and all levels of physical violence and sexual abuse. The study has investigated violence against children within various settings including the home, school and neighborhood. It also examined the prevalence of violence against children whether perpetrated by parents/legal guardians, siblings and other close family members, or others who are part of the child victim’s immediate environment such as teachers and other school staff, classmates and peers.

The 2007 report ‘Violence against children study in Jordan’ found that children in Jordan are exposed to violence from a variety of sources. This violence can have short- and long-term repercussion, which influence not only all aspects of a child's growth and development, but her/his future and the community in which she/he lives. Some of the key findings of the study included:

-One in every 1,000 children is subjected to a degree of violence that requires intervention by the responsible authorities, such as the Family Protection Department of the Public Security Directorate, and the violence is therefore documented.

-The majority of violent acts experienced by children are perpetrated by an authority figure whether at home or at school. More than half the children of Jordan are punished by school teachers and administrators, as well as parents/legal guardians.

-50 per cent of children are physically abused by parents / legal guardians, school teachers and administrators and siblings, while around one third are physically abused by neighborhood adults and children.

-Approximately one third of children are subjected to sexual harassment inflicted by neighborhood adults and children, as well as schoolmates. In addition, 27 out of every 100 children are sexually abused by parents/guardians, relatives, siblings, and school teachers and administrators.

-The rate of girls sexually abused by parents/legal guardians and siblings was higher than boys, while boys were found to be abused more often by school teachers and administrators, and schoolmates.

Since the publication of the 2007 study, other findings related to knowledge, attitudes and practices around violence against children and women were published, most recently in the 2012 Demographic and Health Survey. This found that:

-34% percent of ever-married women age 15-49 have experienced physical violence at least once since age 15, and 13 percent experienced physical violence within the 12 months prior to the survey.

-66% of children age 2-14 were subjected to at least one form of physical punishment during the month preceding the survey.

-69.9% of women agree that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife for specific reasons.

Based on the study findings, MoE and UNICEF has launched a campaignin 2009 to reduce violence in schools, among the activities of the campaign is a monthly survey on the prevalence of physical and verbal violence. The cumulative results of the Ma’An campaign over the last five years is evident. The percentage of children (10-16 years of age) who experience verbal or physical violence has shown steady and considerable decrease, from 44.8 per cent (verbal) in 2009 to 25.4 per cent in the scholastic year 2013-2014 and from 40.3 per cent (physical) to 15.8 per cent for the same period.

As the data around knowledge, attitudes and practices on violence against children has not recently been surveyed and the context in Jordan has been impacted by the refugee crisis due to over crowdedness in the schools and issues related to social cohesion in the communities, UNICEF is planning to conduct a new violence Against Children (VAC) study to assess the impact on prevalence and levels of violence against childrenand to compare the prevalence of the different types of violence with the results of the 2007 VAC Study.

  1. PURPOSE

The study aims at assessing the magnitude, incidence and consequences of various types of violence against children at homes, schools and care and justice systems, workplaces and the community. Violence against children includes emotional and physical abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, sexual exploitation and abuse, bullying and online bullying and sexual exploitation. The study will propose clear recommendations for the improvement of legislation, policy and programmes relating to the prevention and responses to violence against children.

  1. OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the assignment are to conduct a national quantitative and qualitative study on the extent of violence against children at homes, schools and care and justice systems, workplaces and the community to provide a detailed picture of the nature, extent, causes of violence against children in the Jordanian society and associated risk and protective factors.

The study will propose clear recommendations for action to prevent and respond to it that could be translated into comprehensive and sustainable behavior change communication social mobilization, communication; and advocacy long and short terms strategies and programmes.

The study will also review the causes of violence and associated risk and protective factors. The Study will seek the active involvement of children in the study through participatory assessment tools and will provide useful inputs on the perceptions of children and adults regarding violence.The study will document consequences of violence against children and its impact on their life.Gender and discrimination issues of will be considered as overarching concerns.

The study should compare the findings of this study with the 2007 national study on violence against children, taking into consideration the contributing factors and triggers.

The study will also support the response plan of UNICEF and the government of Jordan with strategic and result oriented interventions to end violence against childrenin different settings in Jordan, including recommendations for the improvement of legislation, policy and innovative programmes for the prevention and response to VAC.

Main Study questions

  1. Prevalence of the different types of violence against children at homes, schools,care and justice systems, workplaces and the community. The study will look specifically at these types of violence: emotional and physical abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, sexual exploitation and abuse, bullying and online bullying and sexual exploitation,this should includemultiple victimization and childmarriage.
  2. Assess the proportion of children who had experienced or witnessed any form of violence, their reactions to such violence as well as their knowledge of the respective laws, rights and the help mechanisms. Assess the impact of violence on these children.
  3. Examine the causes of violence in the different settings; the associated risk factors, influencing violence and protective factors in these settings.
  4. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of educators (principals, counsellors, etc.), teachers, community leaders including religious leaders,service providers, media, children (girls and boys) and parents with regard to violence against children.
  5. Survey legal responses to violence and services for children survival of violence.
  6. Were services to children affected by violence and strategies to prevent and respond to violence against children effective?
  1. SCOPE OF THE WORK

The study should use a nationally representative sample that examines violence against children of all nationalities living in Jordan, including representation of Syrian and Palestinian children, with a focus on the areas with a high concentration of Syrian refugees and camps.

. The study needs to cover boys and girls; children living in urban/rural settings and camps; children at homes, schools, care and justice systems, workplaces and the community in all governorates in Jordan.

The participatory approach should be central in the study approach, ensuring the voices and views of children (girls and boys)is an integral part of the study. Special participatory tools should be developed to enable children aged 6-18 to express their views freely and safely on violence. The study should be informed by UNICEF’s Manual for the Measurement of Indicators ofViolence against Children of 2006.

  1. APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

The study methodology should consists of qualitative and quantitative techniques;

The consultant is requested to

Develop an inception plan for the study, to include:

  • Background/ Context and problem statement
  • Objectives and key study questions
  • Proposed research design
  • Sampling methodology(including estimated sample size and geographical distribution)
  • Study variables and their operational definitions
  • Data sources
  • Data collection instruments; tools utilized to collect data, main data sources.
  • Analysis plan
  • Quality control measures to ensure quality of data and ethical principles adhered to; also identify potential ethical issues and mitigation strategies, including protecting confidentiality and observing informed consent.

Consider various assessment designs:

A specific and detailed assessment design should be presented to UNICEF by the team based on the following mixed methods of information gathering:

  1. Questionnaire to assess levels of violence against children in Jordan, based on the UNICEF Manual for the Measurement of Indicators of Violence against Children and gender-sensitive methodologies
  2. Individual and group interviews with key informants
  3. Focus group discussions (FGD) with
  4. Gils, boys and parents, of different ages
  5. Different stakeholders i.e. representatives from MoE, MoH, MoSD, MoAiA, MoL, National Council for Family Affairs and national NGOs community leaders, including religious leaders, media representatives, NGOs. The contractor is expected to produce a comprehensive list of main stakeholders.
  6. Duty bearers and rights holders, to verify the key findings of the survey and identify qualitative information and examples to illustrate the statistical findings.
  7. Structured and semi-structured interviews with relevant stakeholders
  8. Desk review of international, regional and national literature around studies on Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) around violence against children (girls and boys) at homes, schools, care and justice systems, workplaces and the community. The desk review should also look at the legal and services provided to children survivors of violence and their effectiveness and relevance to the violence context.
  9. Participant observation
  10. Case-studies
  11. Document analysis: Prepare a high quality report highlighting the prevalence, attitudes towards as well as the types, extent and impact of violence against children at home, schools, care and justice systems, workplaces and the community as per UNICEF’s report standard[1].

Contractor needs to adhere to the ethical consideration of doing research on children and the study should be approved by ERB in Jordan.

  1. EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

All deliverables are to be submitted in Arabic and English

  • Detailed inception report Arabic and English: to be submittedwithin two weeks of being awarded the contract with proposed methodology, survey design and implementation framework for an in-depth survey on VAC in Jordan, including questionnaires, guides for Focus Group Discussions, sampling methodology, data collection methods and tools, timeline for activities and submission of deliverables. It. The report will be maximum 15 pages in length and should be in line with UN standards for inception report. A draft of the inception report will be shared in advance for comments and will be approved by the study reference group.
  • Desk review report: highlighting key findings from international literature and research related to VAC globally and in Jordan and legal and services provided to children violence (point number 5 under approaches and methodology)
  • Approval of the Ethical Review Board on the study methodology and tools.
  • Final report as per UNICEF standardshighlighting findings from VAC survey. The report should include the depiction of the main findings through graphics and text, and include an analysis of any significant developments in relation to the 2007 survey findings. The report should provide analysis of findings using a gender lens and highlighting KAP of different stakeholders and include action-oriented recommendations.

a)The report shall have the following outline:

  • The format of the report as follows:-
  • Title Page
  • Table of Contents
  • Acknowledgements
  • Executive summary
  • Rationale & Background
  • Goals/ objectives of the assessment
  • Methodology, including limitations, design, study questions, population sampling, data collection procedures, and data analysis
  • Results of the study
  • Case studies, short testimonies and observations if applicable
  • Conclusions and discussions of results
  • Recommendations for future interventions and venues to invest

b)Two hard copies of the final report in Arabic and English and an electronic version of the same in Microsoft Word in both languages. Final Arabic translation of the report must be of high quality and subject to clearance from by Study Committee.

c)The report should be in line with the UNICEF-Adapted UNEG Reports Standards should be between 70 to 90 pages in length excluding an executive summary and all annexes

d)Final report should include a high quality executive summary that can be used independently as Knowledge Management piece in Arabic and English and suitable for national and international circulation.A brief summary that could be with decision makers and list of points show “what if no intervention will take place in short and long term”

  • A fifteen-slide PowerPoint presentation,includes graphs highlighting the main findings and recommendations from the study to be used to brief both government, non-governmental partners and donors in both Arabic and English.
  • Two comprehensive infographics, up to two pages each, summarizing the quantitative and qualitative findings of the study using text, charts and diagrams. The info graphics will be used for advocacy purposes and less technical terminology should be used. Info graphics can be drafted and discussed in English first and the final version translated into Arabic.
  1. GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Consultants’ team will report to UNICEF Chief of Child Protection at UNICEF Jordan Country Office and to the PM&E Chief.

The Study Review Group (SRG) will comprise the representatives of the major stakeholders including study managers, programme specialist from UNICEF CP & M&E sections, and a representative from the Ministry of Education, NCFA in addition to the Jordan Department of Statistics, MoSD, FPD, JRF, MoH, NCHR, MoL, Forensic medicine, HPC, experts, etc.. Regional Monitoring and Evaluation advisor will also provide a quality assurance of ToR, inception report, draft and final study report and participate at SRG meetings as necessary. The SRG will:

•Provide clear specific advice and support to the study manager and the team throughout the whole study process

•Review the ToR, inception report and draft study report and ensure final draft meets the UNICEF-Adapted UNEG Reports Standards.

•Review and provide comments and feedback on the quality of the study process as well as on the study products (comments and suggestions on the TOR, draft reports, final report of the study).

•Ensure the study adheres the ethical principles and addresses potential ethical concerns.

  1. REALISTIC DELIVERY DATES AND DETAILS ON HOW THE WORK MUST BE DELIVERED

# / Deliverables / Type and language / Delivery Date
Detailed inception report Arabic and English
The inception report will be submitted within two weeks after signing the contract and initial briefing with study manager and/or study reference group. / Electronic in English and Arabic / 15th September
Desk Review report
Desk Review report of the international and regional literature around VAC and the legal and services provided to children survivors of violence in Jordan / Electronic in English and Arabic / 25thSeptember
Draft report Arabic and English
The draft report will be shared with the study reference group to seek their comments and suggestions. / Electronic in English and Arabic / 15thDecember
Final Report / Electronic and hard-copy in English and Arabic / 10thJanuary
PowerPoint Presentation
Presentation based on the finalisedstudy report summarising the entire process, purpose, objectives, methodology, findings and recommendations and conclusions. / Electronic in English and Arabic / 10thJanuary
Infographics
At least two infographic, up to two pages each summarizing the quantitative and qualitative findings of the study using text, charts and diagrams. / Electronic in English and Arabic / 10thJanuary
  1. OFFICIAL TRAVEL INVOLVED

It is expected that the research team would make a visit to the country (if located outside) including areas for field work as per methodology finalised for this study. All travel costs (international and local) should be planned properly in the technical proposal and included in the financial proposal. Please note that if selected, the contract can be a supporting document to obtain entry visa (if necessary). UNICEF will be unable to secure travel visas.