RESEARCH CONSULTANCY TERMS OF REFERENCE Young Urban Women Project Research: Understanding and acting on the linkages between Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights and Economic rights. 1. Background of the Young Urban Women Project:The recent histories of most developing nations are marked by rapid urbanisation processes. It is estimated that by 2030, 60% of the global population will live in urban areas. The negative consequences of urbanisation are disproportionately borne by working poor people due to high living densities, overcrowded housing in hazardous conditions, the rising incidence of urban violence and an inadequate supply of clean water, sanitation and solid waste disposal services. A country analysis illustrates that more than 50% of Ghana’s and South Africa’s populations are urban compared to about 30% for India. Feminist research also highlights how the urban planning, management and governance agenda is largely concerned with the physical and spatial issues linked to men’s work patterns, and ignores the different experiences and needs of poor women around access to water, sanitation, secure tenure, safe transportation and streets, health, education and care facilities. Women living in urban slums pace particular difficulties in accessing employment which are characterised by low wages, delay or non-payment of wages, long working hours, deadline pressure, precarious or non-existent job security and medical insurance, sexual harassment, health and safety hazards, use of intimidation tactics and violent measures to quell dissent. Moreover, the dominant sexual divisions of labour results in women across the world performing a disproportionate amount of unpaid care work in the household. In addition to the challenges facing urban young women in acquiring decent work and employment, young girls and women in slums are more likely to have a child, be married or head a household than their counterparts in non-slum areas. While there may be more facilities for integrated sexual and reproductive health 1 services in urban areas, they are not always accessible to working poor women in slums. Building effective SRH services (such as family planning, safe pregnancy and delivery, safe abortions, disease testing and so forth) does not feature prominently in the urban planning and governance agenda. The opinions and voices of urban poor, especially of young women are not reflected or sought in the planning and implementation of urban SRH facilities. Therefore multiple challenges persist in the urban context with regard to accessibility and availability SRHR and economic empowerment of young women. Increasing flexibilization and informalization of production and employment relationships in the context of global competition has ensured that while young women gradually get relegated to informal economy their access to quality and affordable SRHR gets compromised due to the same economic forces leading to privatisation of health care services. Given the above context, the 3 year (2013-2016) multi-country “Young Urban Women-Life Choices and Livelihoods” programme aims at empowering 5,800 young urban women living in poverty in seven cities in India, Ghana and South Africa through more economic independence and control over their bodies, and by ensuring that their voices are heard and recognised in local, national and international forums. Rather than addressing SRHR or Decent Work and livelihoods separately, the rights framework conceived for this project is inclusive of young women’s economic, social and sexual empowerment. The idea of inter-sectionality is important here; young women’s experiences of being marginalised in one aspect of their lives are closely connected to other forms of marginalisation as well. For instance, women concentrated in the informal economy in precarious conditions of work are also often denied access to education and SRH services. The programme (supported by two donors-NORAD and the Human Dignity Foundation) started in July 2013 across seven cities which are Accra and Tamale in Ghana, Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa and Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad in India. Project goal:Our goal is that in three years, 5,800 young urban women living in poverty in Ghana, India and South Africa will have greater dignity through more 2 economic independence and control over their bodies and their voices will be heard and recognised in international forums. Outcomes:Outcomes are the specific changes in young women’s lives that will be achieved by the end of the three year programme and will assist us to achieve the promised goal. The stated goal will be achieved if: Outcome 1: Young women have safe and decent work and livelihoods, and can exercise greater control over their income Outcome 2: Young women's informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health are increasingly realised Outcome 3: Young women in the areas we programme in are empowered and supported by allies and responsible stakeholders to effect change in their own lives, their families, their communities and different levels of government 2. Rationale for the proposed research:Action Aid’s experiences of conducting research and developing the programme framework for this particular project shows that young women’s inability to access SRHR services and reduce the burden of unpaid care work not only have serious implications on her agency and well-being, but also impede her access to paid work outside of the house and vice-versa. Similarly women’s engagement in paid employment has not necessarily resulted in a significant change with regard to their disproportionate responsibility for care work and household chores. However these inter-linkages between young women’s access to Decent Work, SRHR and unpaid care work have remained largely unexplored and unaddressed. Similarly, development interventions with young women have chosen to focus on either livelihoods or SRHR issues, existing in isolation from each other. In the current global context of development of SDGs and Beijing +20 processes, several discussions are currently taking place on situating women’s rights in the over-arching SDG framework. Therefore, this seems like the right time to call for an integrated approach on this, to generate evidence in order to demand an integrated and reinforced state responsibility that would 3 acknowledge the inter-connections under the broader framework of women’s human rights and a gendered approach to social justice. This would also be essential to create stronger cross-movement linkages and consensus building between labour rights movements, feminist organisations, agencies working on SRHR, and youth organisations. Objective of the research: To clearly establish the linkages between access to Decent Work, SRHR, and unpaid care work and the need to have a comprehensive approach towards young women’s empowerment processes. To use the research findings to advocate for greater cross-movement linkages and consensus building between organisations working on SRHR and women’s economic rights, with a particular focus on young women. To eventually facilitate the development of a small informal alliance of agencies working on youth rights, SRHR, women’s rights, labour and economic rights in order to conduct targeted advocacy aimed at relevant global political actors. Target audience:The research would be primarily aimed at civil society organisations working on SRHR, women’s rights and feminist agencies, youth rights, women’s labour and economic rights for consensus building around the comprehensive approach. The research findings will be disseminated through an international workshop in May next year. In the long run it will also be used for advocacy with key donors that fund work on youth rights, employment and women’s rights, as well as with emerging and existing regional policy institutions such as the AU and the BRICS. This would be aimed at pushing for policies and funding structures that acknowledge the inter-connections between SRHR and Economic Rights of young women. Proposed research methodology:The research would involve both primary and secondary modes of data collection. 4 Primary data collection: - primary data would be collected at the community level in all the 3 countries where the project is being implemented. Primary data would mostly be collected through the use of qualitative and participatory tools. Secondary data collection: - the three country and the global project baseline reports, national policy review reports in the three project countries, and relevant international laws, policies, conventions and resolutions would form part of the secondary data collection process. 6. Purpose of the consultancy: There will be two components of the research: international and national. At the international level, the international researcher (already in place) will do the following: A) Lead the process for development of tools for primary data collection from the three countries. B) Provide guidance to the national researchers ensuring a high quality of data collection. The national researcher, under the guidance of the international researcher will be expected to deliver the following outputs: Over-all outputs:1. Community mapping of services 2. Participatory research into young women's understanding of and barriers to intersection of bodily integrity, economic security and reduced burden of care, though interviews, training and supervision of peer interviewers, FGDs, etc. 3. Secondary data collection on municipal expenditures for services related to SRHR, work/livelihood opportunities for young women, key infrastructure (water, sanitation and transportation), and creches. Specific outputs:a. Field testing, piloting of the primary data collection tools. 5 b. Provide feedback to the international researcher on the above and support the tool finalisation process. c. Conduct primary data collection. d. Review existing national, state and municipal level laws, programmes and policies on Decent Work, Unpaid Care Work and SRHR for young urban women to analyse inter-linkages between them. e. Conduct literature review of any research work carried out on interlinkages in the respective country context. f. Analyse and synthesize data and prepare report to be shared with international researcher. 7. An outline of the proposed report: The national report can have the following sections: Chapter 1:- review of existing global information that can shed light on the inter-linkages. Chapter 2:- key findings from the countries in terms of how SRHR and unpaid care work impacts on decent work and livelihoods for young women. Chapter 3:- key findings from the countries in terms of how lack of opportunity to engage in paid employment and/or access to decent work opportunities impacts on women’s SRHR access and decision-making (from the perspective of sexual autonomy and bodily integrity). Chapter 4:- key recommendations for policy makers, and civil society actors, and young people themselves. 8. Outcome of the consultancy: The consultant is expected to produce a 30 page document (excluding bibliography and annexes) highlighting the key findings from the desk research and the primary data collection. The consultant will be required to work 25 days in total. The proposed time-line is below:6 Activity Timeline National 26th March,2015 researchers in place Secondary data 27th to 17th April, 2015 collection/literature review Research workshop 1st week of April (TBA) with three national consultants Field level data 1st to 30th April collection Finalisation of 1st to 20th May national level report Finalisation of 21st May to 21st June International report 8. Location: Accra and Tamale The consultant will be required to undertake travel to the project areas to undertake data collection. 9. What materials/information is to be provided to the consultant? ActionAid will provide the consultant with the full country reports from Ghana, India and South Africa to update and build on. Some of these reports had some gaps, so the role of the consultant will be both to provide more current data when available and to fill in the gaps in the report identified by ActionAid member countries. 10. Copyright/Confidentiality: AAI will retain copyright status of the output resources and any additional documentation or information gathered during the consultancy period. Approval by AAI will be required before the material can be released for reproduction in any format. 7 11. Minimum qualification a. Advanced in Gender Studies/ Reproductive health rights / labour rights and labour law with at least 5-7 years of research in women rights and SRHR issues b. The candidate should have proven research experience in sexual reproductive health and right issues in relation to youth c. The candidate should have sound experience in evaluation and assessment of sexual reproductive health and right services and systems with regards to youth 12. Mode of application Expression of Interest (EoI) with detailed budget should be submitted to: jobs.ghana@actionaid.org or ActionAid Ghana Accra Office, H/No. 13 La Tebu Street, East Cantonments by 22nd March, 2015 8