Consultancy – Elaboration and facilitation of stakeholders roundtable on the Global Manifesto on the Protection of Boys from Sexual Violence

ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT

ECPAT International is a global network of organisations working together for the elimination of the sexual exploitation of children (SEC) in all its manifestations i.e., exploitation of children in prostitution, online child sexual exploitation, sale and trafficking of children for sexual purposes, sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism and some forms of child, early and forced marriage. The ECPAT Network currently consists of 125 members working at national and local levels in 105 countries.

The ECPAT International Secretariat coordinates the global work of the organisation and is based in Bangkok, Thailand. The Secretariat designs and implements global and regional level programmes, and undertakes programming, advocacy and research and facilitates a range of network initiatives.

CONSULTANCY CONTEXT

In June 2023, the inaugural Global Boys Summit brought together over 60 local and international advocates and practitioners working on sexual violence against boys. The summit aimed to discuss challenges and obstacles in service provision to boys, enhance collaboration, share best practices, and develop collective strategies to combat sexual violence against boys. Participants unanimously recognized the pressing need for the establishment of a Global Alliance to ensure that the issue is systematically integrated in the work of the child protection sector, bridging local practices with strategic global advocacy interventions that are based on clear evidence and messaging.

As a result, the Global Alliance on the Protection of Boys from Sexual Violence (GAPB) was established by a core group of international and local organizations with complementary expertise on the issue of sexual violence against boys. The international founding members of the Alliance include All Survivors Project, ECPAT International, Equimundo, Family for Every Child, Physicians for Human Right, Save the Children and Women’s Refugee Commission. ECPAT International acts as the secretariat of the GAPB. This collaborative effort aims to enhance the understanding and the capacity of the child protection sector to address all forms of sexual violence affecting boys in diverse contexts. Most importantly, the action of the GAPB aims to be a complementary resource for all gender-based violence (GBV) efforts, advocating for gender equity and contributing to the fight against GBV to bring about change at the global level.

In order to do so, the GAPB is elaborating a Global Manifesto outlining key messages, purposes, and objectives in integrating the issue of sexual violence against boys within the work of the broader child protection sector, exploring gender transformative approaches contributing to the overall reduction of instances of gender-based violence. The key messages included in the Manifesto will be tested through a pilot campaign to raise awareness on the issue of sexual violence against boys, strengthen the capacity of the child protection system when dealing with boys, and contribute through transformative approaches to gender equity and reduced levels of GBV for all children.

OBJECTIVES

Through the deconstruction of rigid gender norms and ideas of masculinities, taking into consideration diversity and intersectionalityin the experiences of children, the GAPB aims to foster societies and child protection systems that promote gender equity, with a child-centered and rights-based approach that also factors in cultural aspects, supporting gender transformative approaches contributing to the overall reduction of instances of GBV against women and girls. In order to work towards the above-mentioned objectives, the GAPB aims to involve key stakeholders from the GBV sector in the consultations leading to the review, finalization and dissemination of the Global Manifesto. At the same time, the GAPB wants to solidify the inputs on the Global Manifesto and extend the debate on the process by bringing together the individual experts who contributed to the text revision of the Global Manifesto.

ECPAT International on behalf of the Global Alliance on the Protection of Boys from Sexual Violence is seeking a consultant to review the draft of the Global Manifesto, to identify a list of key GBV stakeholders to be involved in the discussion around the Global Manifesto, and to organise and facilitate a roundtable with the identified key GBV stakeholders stakeholders who participated in the text revision in order to guarantee the inclusivity, ownership and relevance of the Global Manifesto and of the overall complementarity of the GAPB vis-à-vis the action of the gender-based violence sector.

The main objectives of the consultancy are to:

1. Review the drafted text of the Global Manifesto, examining language, tone, and content for any potential red flags, biases, or exclusions;
2. Provide possible recommendations for improvements, additions, or revisions to enhance the overall quality, inclusivity, and effectiveness of the Global Manifesto;
3. Identify key GBV stakeholders to be involved in the roundtable and their position on the elaboration of the Global Manifesto and the issue of sexual violence against boys;
4. Organise and facilitate an online roundtable with key GBV stakeholders and individual experts who reviewed the Manifesto on the relevance and intended impact of the Global Manifesto;
5. Translate insights from the roundtable to develop key arguments and strategic messages to guide the dissemination of the Global Manifesto, and the overall approach to sensitize the Global Manifesto within the GBV sector.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

The main deliverables of the consultancy are:

• The draft text of the Global Manifesto is reviewed, and written feedback is provided highlighting identified potential red flags in language, tone and content of the Manifesto, areas for improvement and concrete text suggestions for revisions with specific reference to inclusivity and intersectionality, accompanied by a rationale for each modification suggested;
• A list of key GBV stakeholders to be involved in the Global Manifesto discussion is provided;
• An online roundtable with key GBV stakeholders identified and with the individual experts who contributed to the text revision of the Manifesto is organised and facilitated;
• A two-pager highlighting the key discussions and inputs emerged during the roundtable on the text of the Global Manifesto, including next steps on its dissemination, is produced.

METHODOLGY

The consultant will be in charge of co-constructing the methodology together with the members of the GAPB Steering Committee and ECPAT International, including structure and timeline for the deliverables. At a minimum, the methodology is expected to include:

1. Preparatory work: The consultant will attend one preparatory online session with members of the GAPB Steering Committee and one preparatory session with ECPAT International;
2. Landscape mapping: Rapid mapping of the key GBV actors directly or indirectly relevant to the topic of interest to be included in the roundtable;
3. Roundtable organisation and facilitation: Identifying best format and structure for the online roundtable and facilitating the discussion with the stakeholders;
4. Distillation of key learnings: preparation of a document and organisation of an online debriefing session with members of the Steering Committee on key takeaways from the roundtable and next steps.

The contact point for the consultant will be ECPAT International, that will provide technical and logistical support for the organisation of the roundtable and support throughout the process.

CONSULTANT PROFILE

The consultant needs to have:

• Demonstrated experience including work on similar assignments;
• Proven knowledge and previous experience with GBV and child protection sector;
• An established network with relevant GBV stakeholders;
• Understanding of and commitment to GAPB mission and values;
• Advanced editing and facilitation skills in English;
• Demonstrated ability to take initiative and work independently and within the established deadline;
• High ethical standards.

TIMELINE

The consultant will have 03 working days for the review of the Manifesto, and 08 working days for the organisation of the roundtable, for a total of 11 to 12 working days to organise and facilitate the roundtable and complete the review and revision process of the text of the Global Manifesto.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This is a home-based position using its own equipment. The individual expert should be available for online calls including with different time zones in particular with Thailand where ECPAT International Secretariat is based.

OUR COMMITMENTS

As ECPAT’s International Secretariat we recognise that our strength lies in the diversity of the people who make up our global network, staff, volunteers and consultants. We are committed to being an inclusive workplace where people of all backgrounds and cultures can strive and be themselves. This means we will challenge ourselves to do better and to continue learning, to create and maintain a working environment steeped in respect, tolerance, safety, and where all parties are valued equally.

As a child-focused organisation, ECPAT has a strong commitment to child safeguarding and rigorous procedures, and the successful candidate will be required to sign our 2 codes of conduct.