Baseline Study for Safe to Learn Project

Background

The IRC responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. The IRC was founded in 1933 to respond to the needs of people vulnerable to conflict around the world. Since then, it has expanded and evolved to become one of the world’s leading humanitarian organizations. In 2016, more than 26 million people benefited from IRC programs and those of its partner organizations. Today, the IRC continues to serve communities with emergency relief and reconstruction assistance, including child protection programming, operating in both refugee and host communities affected by conflict and disaster. The IRC in South Sudan has been providing humanitarian assistance since 1989. In 2020, with support from the Partnership for End Violence against Children, the IRC received funding to support safe learning for children in Schools and community in Panyijiar County, Unity State.

Project Location Context

Within South Sudan, 2.5 million children are in need of protection from violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation and require sustained child protection services. Panyijiar is severely affected by inter-communal conflict, revenge killing, displacement, and children being recruited into the armed forces (SS HNO 2020). In Panyijiar, only 24,608 students (42% girls) have been registered in 52 schools. Unsafe schooling conditions due to insecurity, inaccessible locations, and poor infrastructure have resulted in 25% of girls feeling unsafe on playgrounds, 20% of pupils feeling unsafe on their journey to school, and nearly half feeling unsafe using school toilets (GEPSS, 2017-2022). Corporal punishment, verbal abuse, and negative discipline measures utilized by teachers supplement physical and psychological abuse endured by children by their families. Cultural barriers, bullying, and lack of access to sanitary pads and essential personal hygiene services increase the likelihood of adolescent girls to drop out of school and enter early marriages. Moreover, the closure of schools due to COVID-19 has increased psychosocial distress, child abuse, exploitation, and sexual violence within the home.

Objectives of the Project

The proposed project will apply different evidence-based program approaches to reduce school-related safety factors, introduce and support schools with positive behavior management, and reduce physical and emotional abuse.Parents will participate in IRC’s FMD program approach to decrease and prevent violence against children in the home. The SAFE component will equip adolescents with positive coping strategies while encouraging equitable, respectable, and nonviolent treatment of their peers. The main project objectives will focus on:

Objective one: consists of three outputs: Supporting schools to demonstrate positive behavior management practices and safety for girls and boys; Strengthening the capacity of caregivers and children to create a safe, supportive and nurturing environments in and around schools; and ensuring schools provide an opportunity for girls and boys who have experienced or are at-risk of violence to recover and thrive. A mix of different activities will strengthen teachers and PTAs capacities, develop child safeguarding policies, train students on social and emotional skills, establish school clubs, and provide material support. Parents and caregivers will receive positive parenting, non-violent discipline, and stress management training. Adolescents will receive positive-coping strategies and life skills training. Child protection Help Desks will be established in schools, led by the trained teachers to support with PFA, and refer children with protection concerns to IRC’s child protection section for further case management.

Objective two: consists of two outputs: Community members receiving greater exposure to messaging about violence against children, gender equity and respect for the rights of all children and adolescents; and establishing and strengthening Community-Based Child Protection Networks (CBCPN) to influence community non-violent norms and values. Six activities include messaging through schools mini-media, IEC/BCC materials, and community awareness through megaphone announcements, celebration events, and community structure engagements like CBCPN which will include community religious leaders, elders, local authorities, and social services.

Geographical coverage and target population

The baseline study will be conducted in Panyijiar (Unity State). Focus will be on project location and target population in the design document.

Study Duration

The baseline study is estimated to take 30 working days including field work and report compilation period. The baseline study will be conducted and reported between March and April 2021. Interested consultants must submit technical and financial proposals to IRC by 28 February, 2021.

Deliverables

The consultant will submit to IRC:

Monitoring Deliverables

1. An inception monitoring report, including the tools that will be used such as community assessments, approaches/methods of the monitoring, proposed timeline of activities and submission of deliverables.
2. Design, implementation, and analysis of up to 15 key informant interviews for contextual analysis
3. Desk review of school safety related issues and violence against children in Unity State for contextual analysis
4. Draft report of monitoring approach and contextual analysis report for comments from IRC
5. Final report, including revised Log-frame with baseline data and indicator targets.