Consultant(s) for Research on Child Marriage Situation and Impact in Vietnam

World Vision Vietnam is looking for the Vietnamese or foreign consultant(s) to fill the following vacancy:

Consultant(s) for Research on Child Marriage Situation and Impact in Vietnam [1]

• Deadline for application: August 21, 2022.
• For detailed Job advertisement, terms of reference please find on the attached file

Background

In recent years, WVI-Vietnam and other organisations have been working together with girls, families, communities, governments, and other stakeholders to address and prevent child marriage. As a result, progress has been made in enhancing the capacity of children, parents, and communities; as well as in improving support services to education, healthcare, social protection, and livelihood opportunities. However, this progress has been uneven. Therefore, more needs to be done to address existing gaps and to respond to new challenges. These include social norms and practices, financial and educational opportunities, other structural issues, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Preventing child marriage needs to remain an overarching priority for action. However, at the same time, interventions that support girls who are already married and their children also need to be accelerated. This is essential in order to address the negative consequences of child marriage on girls, their children, their families, and their communities. For this reason, WVI-Vietnam has chosen to assess the situation of girls/young women who married before the age of 18 and their children. The research will also shed more light on the social norms that affected their decision to get married as children, their experiences in accessing basic services, continuing their education, and dealing with domestic violence. The research will also contribute to the global picture of World Vision International on the issue of child marriage.

Research objectives and Audiences

The purpose of this research is to gain an in-depth perspective on child marriage in the current socio-economic context in Vietnam after COVID-19. It will explore the causes and consequences directly ‘child brides’ – girls that married before the age of 18. Its key objectives are to:

• Inform WVI-Vietnam’s advocacy and programming on preventing child marriage and protecting children domestic violence and abuse.
• Inform WVI-Vietnam’s recommendations on the policies regarding preventing child marriage and social services for child marriage cases, especially girls.
• Position WVI-Vietnam for available funding the global UNFPA/UNICEF programme.
• Increase World Vision’s profile as an organisation addressing child marriage and violence against girls among policymakers, donors, UN agencies, and partners.

The main audiences are: 

• The general public
• Policymakers and donors
• International and national organisations and partners, especially UNICEF/UNDP

Key tentative research questions

1. What are the key drivers leading to child marriage, including norms, practices, peer pressure, etc.? 
2. How have brides’ lives changed upon their marriage? This high-level framing question will be answered through: a) qualitative research methods (focus-group discussions (FGDs)), and; b) a comparative analysis of responses three groups of women - what are the changes in girls’ agency and social marginalisation (relationships, stigma, etc.) resulting early marriage?
3. Can child brides access social protection, legal and psychological support, and other services? What enables/restricts their access?
4. Are child brides able to continue their education in any form and what enables/restricts their access?
5. Do child brides experience any interpersonal violence in their new homes? Who are the perpetrators and victims? Are they able to access any support? What are their dreams and aspirations?
6. What would be most helpful to overcome the challenges they face?
7. What are the impacts on the well-being of children born to child marriage? 
8. What are the priorities for action for policymakers and donors to ensure that child brides receive the support they need to lead healthy, happy, and productive lives?

Responsibilities

• Advising, reaching a consensus on, and developing research questions and design. This should indicate the methodologies to be applied (quantitative and qualitative methods), proposed sample size, data analysis method and plan, report outline, quality control methods, logistics, and other related issues upon discussion with World Vision. A specific plan will be developed to address the specific objectives listed above.  
• Conducting preparation activities for the research, including a literature review, developing tools, etc.
• Providing training for field data collectors, including ethical and gender aspects and covering protocols/guidelines to ensure the anonymity and confidentiality of interviewees, and; supervising the data collection process in the field, applying relevant methods of quality control. 
• Analysing quantitative and qualitative data, explicitly indicating the gender, ethnicity, and disability features. 
• Participating in organising validation workshops, presenting reports, facilitating technical discussions, collecting and consolidating feedback, and confirming the draft report.  
• Revising and completing the report versions based on input World Vision and related partners.
• Securing the endorsement of World Vision on the research plan, research report outline, draft report, and final report.
• Following Vietnamese legal regulations on child protection and the Child and Adult Safeguarding Policy of World Vision. 
• Responsibility for publication with support World Vision.

Work plan

The timeline for the report is August 2022 to October 2022.

Budget

The maximum budget is 10,000 but cost effectiveness will be one of the selection criteria. 

Consultant Qualifications, Experience, and Competencies:

The successful consultant(s) should have the following qualifications to effectively carry out the research:

Essential:

• At least a post-graduate degree in social sciences, development, or related fields. 
• At least five years of experience in conducting similar research in the role of research team leader.  
• Strong experience and skills in using quantitative and qualitative methods, leading data collection, analysing qualitative and quantitative data, and using data analysis applications/software.
• Excellent report writing skills, including report writing for publication. 
• Excellent capacity and profile in the publication of research products on social development, child protection (in the case of a consultant team, at least one team member must fulfil this criterion).
• Strong knowledge of and insights Vietnamese law and policies on child protection and child marriage prevention, the political system, policy context, the issue of child marriage, and the rights of women and children.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English and Vietnamese (in the case of a consultant team, at least one team member must fulfil this criterion).
• A strong commitment to delivering timely and high-quality results.

Preferred:

• Experience undertaking research on social norms, policy impact on child marriage, violence against women and children, and gender.
• Have been published at the national level on child marriage or gender-based violence. 
• Able to work with stakeholders at different levels.

Interested candidates will be asked to send an application package in English containing:

• A curriculum vitae for each member of the consultancy team (include name, title, organization, contact details and two referees).
• The research proposal including the methodologies, tools and process they will undertake to deliver the assignment. 
• Financial proposal

Applications must be sent to: wvv[email protected] [2] by 17h00, 21 August 2022 Vietnam time.