Terms of Reference to conduct research on Exploring Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) in Rwanda: Understanding Forms, Consequences, and Responses

About RWAMREC

The Rwanda Men Resource Centre (RWAMREC) is a Rwandan non-governmental organization, working to promote gender equality and positive masculinities and engaging men to eliminate Gender-based Violence.

The vision of RWAMREC is a peaceful Rwandan society where women and men share roles and responsibilities of raising families and governing society in equality and respect of human rights. RWAMREC’s distinctive and innovative mission is to promote gender equality through the reconstruction of a non-violent identity of men, the adoption of healthy masculine behaviors, and men’s empowerment to be positive and supportive partners, role models for other men and change agents in promoting healthy families and women’s socio-economic development, eradication of sexual and gender-based violence, positive fatherhood and men’s health in Rwanda.

 About the Generation Gender program

Generation G (GenG) Rwanda is a 5-year long advocacy program, which intends to promote meaningful youth engagement for a gender-just and violence-free society that gives impetus to the gender and GBV policies in Rwanda. GenG is a coalition that brings together three CSOs, including RWAMREC as the lead, the Health Development Initiative (HDI), and the African Youth and Adolescent Network (AfriYAN Rwanda).

Rationale

TFGBV (Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence) is widely considered a new topic in Rwandan society including within CSOs and private sectors. Individuals and groups are at risk of experiencing and/or committing TFGBV in different forms such as online and sexual harassment, cyberstalking, impersonation, location tracking, and the non-consensual sharing of images, while not recognizing such acts as crimes when they occur.

In line with the Gen-G program objectives, The Rwanda coalition recognizes the urgent need to address emerging challenges, such as Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV), arising from advancements in technology and the rapid increase in phone and internet penetration across the country.

 As per Kepios analysis, there was an increase of 97 thousand (+2.3 percent) between 2022 and 2023 of internet users in Rwanda. Also, at the beginning of 2024, Rwanda had 4.91 million internet users and 34.4% of internet penetration.

One of the main channels through which the online presence increased is social media. In 2024, DataReportal found 930.4 thousand active social media user identities in Rwanda. Also, as per Kepios, there is an increase in social media use in Rwanda - this increase was by 286 thousand (+44.3 percent) between early 2023 and the beginning of 2024.

Additionally, we realize that online presence is dominated by men rather than women. For example - early 2024;

• 2% of Facebook’s ad audience in Rwanda was female, while 63.8% was male.
• 1% of Instagram’s ad audience in Rwanda was female, while 60.9% was male
• 5 % of X’s ad audience in Rwanda was female, while 77.5 % was male

Many internet and social media users are often unaware of the significant harm these tools can cause if misused. Currently, there is a lack of consistent online interventions aimed at raising in-depth public awareness and addressing the root causes of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV). As a result, there is a growing risk of TFGBV becoming pervasive, with victims unable to access the responsive support they need when such incidents occur."

Harmful Gender and social norms and the patriarchy are among the root causes of both TFGBV and sexual harassment. The TFGBV study carried out by Rutgers in 2023 in different countries including Rwanda, indicates that there are different levels of understanding of TFGBV among individuals, with most people lacking the full awareness of what constitutes that crime.

In the current online spaces, no consistent campaign focuses on bringing in-depth awareness to the public in a way that challenges and addresses the root causes.

 This is why with this project, we plan to do the following to contribute to addressing TFGBV;

• Country-based research: The TFGBV study carried out by Rutgers in 2023 in different countries recommended that some countries including Rwanda do country-based research. This will help GenG Rwanda coalition members (and other partners who want to address it) to better understand the status of TFGBV in Rwanda, how TFGBV manifests itself within the Rwandan context and its effects. With this research, we will also understand better the existing legal framework (and if any gaps) and approaches to adopt to address TFGBV in Rwanda.
• Capacity building with GenG Rwanda team: With The TFGBV study by Rutgers in 2023, one of the findings that applies to Rwanda is that there are different levels of understanding of TFGBV among individuals, with most people lacking the full awareness of what constitutes that crime. That lack of awareness is also among the GenG Rwanda team, therefore the awareness raising needs to start from the team that will lead and implement this project.

However, for GenG Rwanda, we need to understand TFGBV and how it is evolving in Rwanda so the interventions and approaches we choose will be research-driven, whether at a community level (online and offline) or an advocacy level.

• Raising awareness among young people online: Looking at the use of the internet in Rwanda, young people are among the significant users. As the Rwanda coalition, we need to focus on online and offline interventions that align with GenG Rwanda’s work. The information from the research will be used, by the GenG Team, during the staff training and the online campaign content creation to help mostly young people gain knowledge about TFGBV for them to recognize and address it.

Scope of Work

RWAMREC is looking for an individual consultant or a company to conduct research with a mixed-method approach (focusing on a qualitative approach) on the status of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) in Rwanda.

The main objective of this research is to comprehensively understand the prevalence, forms, impacts, and underlying factors of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV), to inform effective TFGBV interventions in Rwanda including the gap in policy and law. The research will involve various stakeholders including feminist individuals and feminist groups, women's development, and women’s rights advocates. This objective will be broken into the below sub-objectives;

This objective can be broken down further into sub-objectives to address specific areas, such as:

• Identify and categorize the different forms of TFGBV and how they manifest across various platforms and technologies.
• Analyze the prevalence of TFGBV, including identifying high-risk demographics and contexts.
• Assess the psychological, social, and economic impacts of TFGBV on victims, survivors, families, and communities.
• Investigate the gaps in current legislation, policies, and institutional responses to TFGBV, including barriers to reporting and support services.
• Provide actionable recommendations to improve prevention and intervention efforts, policy development, and digital platform accountability for TFGBV.

With this research, the consultant will also do the documentation of some cases of different types of TFGBV in Rwanda which will be used to create the content for the online campaign that will be done in early 2025.

The geographical scope of the study will include Kigali and the surrounding cities by focusing on where the victims of TFGBV are mostly located; online and offline.

The consultant is expected to work closely with the Project Coordinator of GenG Rwanda to finalize the research design, the tools, and the sample of research participants. The consultant will be responsible for collecting qualitative data (and some quantitative data). These data will be in the form of audio files and transcriptions (and survey responses if applicable)

Responsibilities

With this research, the following methodology will be used:

• Meet with RWAMREC to discuss the research objectives and requirements.
• Review studies that havebeen done on Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV), focusing on research in countries surrounding Rwanda.
• Identify and recruit participants and key informants that fit the research criteria.
• Conducting/facilitating Interviews and focus group discussions as well as surveys.
• Conduct thematic analysis to interpret the data both qualitative and quantitative.
• Prepare comprehensive reports with findings from the desk review and field, provide interpretations, and offer recommendations based on the research findings.
• Validation and dissemination of the findings to the RWAMREC team and other Generation Gender coalitions.

Deliverables & Expected Outcomes

The research study will produce the following deliverables:

• An inception report with comprehensive research plans that outline the methodology, research questions, sampling strategies, and data collection methods.
• A literature review document summarizing the existing knowledge on the topic.
• All audio files; raw data including transcripts and signed consent forms from the research participants.
• A final report presenting the research findings, analysis, recommendations,and documented stories of people who faced TFGBV.
• A PowerPoint presentation with summarized findings.

Required qualifications of the consultant

• A holder of a degree in a relevant field (social sciences, research,and gender).
• A postgraduate degree is a plus.
• An experienced qualitative researcher with experience in the field of gender-based violence or online GBV in Rwanda and with moderate quantitative experience.
• An experienced qualitative researcher with experience or an understanding of the technology work.
• Someone with previous experience working with evidence-based programming.
• Having experience in evidence-based gender-related advocacy is a plus.

Evaluation criteria

Duration of the consultancy

The assignment shall be completed in 3 months from the date of the contract signing.

This consultancy work is expected to start mid-December 2024.

Procedure for submission of proposals

The candidates are encouraged to submit the following documents, no later than December 4, 2024, at 5.00 pm Kigali time: 

• A technicalproposal outlining an indicative methodology, timeline, resource allocation, and delivery dates;
• Financial proposal;
• Detailed CVs, including 2 references
• Example of a similar work done for a previous assignment (report).

Applications should be addressed to the RWAMREC Executive Director at the following address: YYUSSA PLAZA Kimironko Tel-Cellular: +250 788315140; E-mail: info@rwamrec.org.

Late applications will not be accepted.

Done at Kigali, November 20, 2024.

Fidele RUTAYISIRE

Executive Director-RWAMREC