International consultant on SITAN on social norms

TERMS OF REFERENCE (to be completed by Hiring Office)

Hiring Office:

UNFPA Turkmenistan CO

Title:

Context and justification:

Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in 2015.

Turkmenistan actively pursues a gender-responsive national policy based on constitutional principles and the SDGs.  Legislative and policy measures are adopted to realize the principles of equal rights and opportunities for men and women.

The socially oriented policy of the country on empowering women in socio-political, economic and cultural life, protecting their rights and legitimate interests, providing state benefits and provision of conditions for decent living standards and productive labor are critical factors for the country’s sustainable socio-economic development, strengthening the legal foundations and furthering the democratization of the Turkmen society. 

Turkmenistan adopts national laws aligned with international norms in cooperation with international organizations, implements SDG-related thematic programs and plans for ensuring gender equality.

Working towards gender equality – by empowering women and engaging men – is fundamental to achieving a host of development outcomes, including reducing poverty, improving health and addressing other population concerns.   Gender equality and human rights are core values in UNFPA and are reflected throughout its work. 

UNFPA works with both men and women of all ages to overcome gender inequality, improve SRH and reduce violence. To address gender inequality and reproductive rights, the engagement of men and boys is integrated throughout UNFPA work; it is reflected in how UNFPA does its work, and every aspect of work under the other areas reflect a commitment to gender equality. As part of this commitment, and as part of the commitment to their own rights and health, men and boys need to be involved. Furthermore, the clearer the understanding is that health and development outcomes result from social relationships, the more all programme responses can address these root causes. 

Social and gender equality is most likely to be achieved when everyone recognizes that the lives of men, women, boys and girls are interdependent and that the empowerment of women and girls and the participation of men and boys benefit everyone.

A social constructionist perspective has guided many interventions with men and women, boys and girls from a gender perspective. This approach suggests that social norms and gender norms are socially constructed (rather than being biologically driven), vary across historical and local context and interact with many other factors. 

In a social constructionist perspective, the prevailing patterns of hegemony and patriarchy create gender norms that families, communities and social institutions reinforce and reconstruct. Individual men and women, boys and girls learn and internalize norms about their gender but can also react to these norms and can and do question them. 

Boys and girls learn what manhood and womanhood mean by observing their families, where many see women and girls providing caregiving for children while men are often outside the family setting working. They observe and internalize broader social norms, including messages from television, mass media and from which toys or games are considered appropriate for boys or girls. They also learn such norms in schools and other social institutions and from their peer groups, which may encourage risk-taking behaviour, competition and violence and may ridicule boys and girls who do not meet these social expectations. These social meanings of manhood and womanhood are largely constructed in relation to prevailing social norms about what it means to be a woman or a man.

To understand more fully how social norms impact the lives and behaviours of men and women, how they view themselves, their gender roles, their sexual relationships and their childbearing decisions, there is a need to collect richer information through surveys, interviews, other.

Within this context, UNFPA plans to undertake a Rapid analysis of situation on the perceptions and social norms related to gender equality, women’s rights, bodily autonomy, reproductive rights and prevention of gender-based and domestic violence

Objective and Scope of consultation:

The International Consultant will carry out the following tasks: 

Literature Review - 3 days:

• Review the recent literature on human rights and gender equality situation in the country, existing secondary data sources including key strategic documents and deliver on the approaches (concept, definition, methodology); a mapping of current and existing government-led and UN-supported programmes, plans, initiatives, reports, studies and data sets. 
• Hold focused meetings and consultations with UNFPA and key national partners to address the scoping exercise. 

A detailed Inception Report - 2 days:

• Develop a work plan for the consultancy including schedule of activities, and a tentative plan for meetings with key national stakeholders.

Development of methodology – 3 days: 

• Develop methodology for the survey, including designing focus group discussions (FGDs) guide; a guide for conducting a social media scan on social norms and an interview guide.
• Develop questionnaires for focus group discussions and interviews with the young people and key national counterparts.

Training of local facilitators and interviewers and to collect data from the field - 2 days:

• Train online a group of local interviewers and facilitators to hold and document FGDs with the selected group of adolescents and youth, including teenage boys to address the needs of the scoping exercise.

Processing of gathered data from the field and drafting a report – 7 days:

• Develop an analytical draft report on the situation on the perceptions and social norms and gender stereotypes regarding gender equality, the rights of women, girls, including women and girls with disabilities, bodily autonomy, prevention of gender-based and domestic violence, as well as on the engagement of men and boys in the promotion of positive social norms and gender equality in Turkmenistan. Prepare and add a section on recommendations for guiding the work in this area.

Data collection and report validation mission – 5 days:

• Conduct a mission to the country to hold and document key informant interviews (KIIs) with the national counterparts, including the Institute of State, Law and Democracy, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Medical Industry, State Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, Youth Organization, Women Organization, and selected civil society organizations (CSOs). 
• Present the report for validation purposes.

Finalization of report and closure – 3 days:

• Finalize the report by incorporating and synchronizing all feedback from stakeholders.

Total number of days: 25 working days.

Expected Outcomes and Deliverables:

Deliverable 1: An inception report with methodology, detailed research design and questionnaires – 5 days by 30 July, 2025 

Deliverable 2: Description of methodology, questionnaires and results of an online 1-day training for a group of local interviewers and facilitators – 5 days by August 8, 2025

Deliverable 3: Draft analytical report – 7 days by 22 August 2025

Deliverable 4: Travel report following a mission to the country – 5 days by 12 September 2025

Deliverable 5: An analytical report with recommendations for guiding the work in the area of social norms on gender equality – 3 days by 15 October 2025.

Duration and working schedule:

Duration of this consultancy is from 21 July to 15 October 2025 including operational closure of the contract. 

Place where services are to be delivered:

The consultancy services will need to be delivered home-based with a country mission in the first week of September 1-5, 2025. 

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.):

Dates for deliverables are provided under the section Scope of work. All deliverables will be provided in an electronic format.

Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline:

The International Consultant will report to the UNFPA Programme Analyst on Gender and Youth and will provide an update biweekly on progress, challenges encountered, and support requirements.

Supervisory arrangements: 

The IC will perform under the overall guidance of and report to the UNFPA Gender and Youth National Programme Analyst. 

Expected travel:

One mission of 4-5 days to the country is planned during the in the first week of September 1-5, 2025. Travel costs will be covered additionally according to the UNFPA’s Duty Travel Policy.

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:

• At least Master Degree in Gender Studies, Social Sciences or equivalent;
• Profound knowledge of gender equality thematic topics including gender legislation, international instruments, national mechanisms, addressing GBV, gender stereotypes, men engagement and women empowerment issues.
• Prior experience in Turkmenistan or in Central Asia and knowledge of gender equality systems and practices in the region will be an asset.
• Ability to integrate different experiences, methodologies, and approaches from a diverse range of stakeholders, organizations, and technical experts from multiple sectors.
• Strong analytical, conceptual thinking and effective communication skills.
• Minimum ten years of experience in conducting sociological studies, desk reviews and research, including both qualitative and quantitative studies, writing analytical papers, in particular in the field of youth and adolescents, gender and equity analysis.
• Proven track record in submitting structured and well-written reports (in English and/or Russian);
• Good knowledge of the work and approaches in gender and youth related programming used by UNFPA.
• Fluency and strong writing skills in English. Knowledge of Russian language is an asset.

Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g support services, office space, equipment), if applicable:

UNFPA will provide the consultant with all the necessary materials, data, information and available reports. However, additional information will be identified by the Consultant through reviews, working with specialists, other.

The consultancy fee will be calculated based on the P5 level of the UN Salary Scale for Professional and higher categories effective 1 January 2025 and will be paid in a lump sum upon successful completion of all deliverables.