Research Consultancy: Access to Justice Assessment for GBV Survivors

• Project Title : Restoring Dignity and Protection for Conflict-Affected Women and Girls in Ortese and Daudu IDP camps, Benue State, Nigeria.
• Location:  Makurdi LGA & Guma LGA (Ortese & Daudu), Benue State, Nigeria 
• Partner Org : Foundation for Justice Development and Peace (FJDP) 
• Project Donor :  CDCS
• Assignment Type :Research Consultancy 
• Start Date: September 2026 (tentative, subject to final agreement)
• Duration : 3 months

Background

Conflict and displacement in Benue State have significantly increased the vulnerability of women, girls, and children to gender-based violence (GBV). While humanitarian actors have established essential GBV response services, access to formal legal and judicial remedies remains critically limited.

Available evidence suggests that only a small proportion of survivors pursue formal justice pathways. This is driven by a combination of:

• Weak legal enforcement and procedural barriers 
• Limited institutional capacity and coordination among justice actors 
• Ineffective referral pathways between GBV and legal services 
• Socio-cultural norms, stigma, and fear of retaliation 
• Low awareness of rights and available services 

Informal and community-based justice mechanisms also play a prominent role but may not consistently align with survivor-centered and rights-based standards.

To address these challenges, Tdh seeks to generate context-specific, actionable evidence to inform programming and strengthen access to justice for GBV survivors in IDP settings.

Description of the Assignment

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to conduct a participatory, survivor-centered assessment to identify and analyze the systemic, institutional, and socio-cultural barriers limiting access to SGBV survivors—particularly legal and judicial support— for conflict-affected women and girls, and to use the findings to develop practical Guidelines and SOPs.

Scope 

The assessment will adopt a 360-degree “justice journey” approach , examining:

• Survivor pathways from incident to service access and justice outcomes 
• Availability and accessibility of legal, judicial, and GBV services 
• Functionality of referral pathways and case management systems 
• Institutional capacity and coordination among service providers 
• Socio-cultural norms influencing reporting and justice-seeking 
• Legal awareness and information access 
• Role and influence of informal justice systems 

The study will prioritize internally displaced women and girls , including adolescent girls and      children, while incorporating perspectives from communities and service providers.

Key Research Domains

• Survivor access and justice pathways 
• Systemic and institutional barriers 
• Socio-cultural norms and gender dynamics 
• Awareness and information gaps 
• Informal justice mechanisms
• Opportunities for systems strengthening

Methodological Orientation (Indicative)

While a mixed-methods approach is anticipated, the consultant will justify their methodological choices during inception, which may include KIIs, FGDs, participatory mapping, and other approaches appropriate to the research questions. The research may be primarily qualitative, with limited quantitative elements that prioritizes participatory methods, including:

Key considerations:

• Use of non-representative, qualitative sampling (e.g., purposive and snowballing) 
• Building on existing datasets / evidence as a starting point, the Consultant would ensure necessary integrations from previous or available studies, to avoid duplication.
• Application of gender-transformative, human rights-based, and child-sensitive approaches.
• Strict adherence to GBV ethical research standards 

The selected consultant will develop a detailed methodology in the inception phase.

Indicative Research Questions

The assessment will be guided by a set of indicative research questions aligned with the key domains. These are intended to provide analytical direction, while allowing the consultant to refine and expand them during the inception phase.

Survivor Pathways and Access

• What pathways do GBV survivors follow from incident occurrence to seeking support and justice? 
• At what stages do survivors disengage from formal justice processes, and why? 

Systemic and Institutional Barriers

• What legal, policy, and procedural barriers limit access to justice for GBV survivors? 
• What capacity and coordination gaps exist among justice and GBV service providers? 

Socio-Cultural Norms

• How do gender norms, stigma, and power dynamics influence reporting and justice-seeking behavior? 

Awareness and Information

• What is the level of awareness of rights and available services among women and girls?
• What barriers exist in accessing reliable information? 

Informal Justice Systems

• What role do informal mechanisms play in GBV case resolution? 
• How do these mechanisms align with survivor-centered and rights-based approaches? 

Systems Strengthening

• What practical and context-specific interventions can improve access to justice? 
• What are the priority actions for strengthening referral systems and coordination? 

Note: The consultant is expected to refine and operationalize these questions in the inception phase.

Conceptual Framework and Analytical Lens (To be developed by the Consultant)

The consultant will develop an original conceptual framework that may draw on justice journey models, systems analysis, or other analytical approaches as deemed most appropriate.

Objectives of the Study

Overall Objective

To generate actionable evidence on barriers to justice for GBV survivors to inform programming, advocacy, and systems strengthening.

Specific Objectives

• Identify and map good and promising practices, as well as gaps, weaknesses, and loopholes in legislative, policy, and institutional frameworks addressing gender-based violence;
• Document and analyse the various forms of discrimination, exclusion, and barriers faced by girl and women survivors in accessing both statutory and customary justice mechanisms, considering intersecting vulnerabilities and grounds of discrimination, including age, disability, socio-economic status, place of residence, displacement status, and other relevant factors;
• Examine statutory justice processes and identify barriers, judicial bias, gender stereotyping, secondary victimisation, violations of rights and due process guarantees, and other harmful practices affecting survivors at each stage of formal GBV proceedings, including reporting, investigation, prosecution, trial, sentencing, and post-trial enforcement;
• In the customary processes: document the social, familial, and community pressures exerted on girls and other GBV survivors to settle cases outside the formal justice system; assess the extent to which customary justice mechanisms provide safe, fair, and rights-based responses to GBV; analyse how patriarchal norms, discriminatory gender attitudes, and unequal power relations shape proceedings and outcomes; identify barriers preventing survivors from accessing formal justice; and examine the potential harmful effects of customary settlements, including impunity, inadequate remedies, revictimisation, social exclusion, and negative impacts on survivors’ physical, psychological, and socio-economic well-being.
• Compile and analyse quantitative and qualitative data on legal aid, judicial support, and case processing for survivors of GBV, including: 
• the number of cases receiving legal aid;
• the number of cases formally reported (complaints filed);
• the number of withdrawn cases (discontinuations), along with the reasons for withdrawal;
• the number of cases handled at different judicial levels and court case disposal rates;
• the number of cases adjudicated;
• the number of convictions secured;
• and the number of cases in which survivors received reparations;
• Identify and formulate evidence-based recommendations for programming, advocacy, legal reform, institutional strengthening, and policy interventions aimed at improving access to justice for women and girls affected by GBV, strengthening survivor-centred and gender-responsive justice systems and increasing the representation and participation of women within judicial and justice sector institutions.
• Assess effectiveness of current referral pathways and case management practices
• Examine survivor pathways from incident to service and justice access
• Assess legal awareness levels among women and adolescent girls

Generate evidence to support Tdh in develop:

• Access to Justice Guidelines
• SOPs for legal handling of GBV cases
• Recommendations for strengthening coordination and accountability

Expected Participants

Primary Groups

• Internally Displaced Women and Adolescent girls (10–19 years)
• Female-headed households
• Child survivors and at-risk children
• GBV survivors (engaged ethically)

Secondary Groups

• Men and boys
• Community leaders (traditional/religious/camp)
• GBV caseworkers and service providers
• Police, lawyers, magistrates, social welfare officers.

Scope of Work (Indicative)

The consultancy will be implemented in the following phases:

Phase 1: Inception and Design

• Review project documents and existing data 
• Develop detailed methodology and tools 
• Submit inception report 

Phase 2: Data Collection

• Conduct field data collection using agreed tools 
• Engage stakeholders and target populations 
• Ensure ethical compliance 

Phase 3: Data Analysis and Draft Reporting

• Analyze qualitative and quantitative data 
• Develop draft findings and recommendations 

Phase 4: Validation

• Facilitate validation workshop(s) with stakeholders 
• Integrate feedback 

Phase 5: Final Outputs Development

• Finalize assessment report 
• Develop Access to Justice Guidelines 
• Develop SOPs for GBV case handling

Deliverables and Timeline (Proposed, Based on Indicative Scope of Work)

Roles and Responsibilities

The Consultant / Research Organization 

• Leads the technical design and research implementation 
• Developing methodology and tools 
• Conducts data collection and analysis 
• Produces all deliverables (as seen in section 13)

FJDP

• Support community entry and mobilization 
• Facilitate engagement with stakeholders 
• Provide contextual insights

Tdh Nigeria

• Define the overarching problem, scope, and expected outputs
• Set strategic priorities and success criteria
• Provide enabling support – technical tools, ethical guidance and coordination 
• Provide general responsive oversight without micromanaging methodology

RACI Matrix

(R = Responsible, A = Accountable, C = Consulted, I = Informed)

9. Reporting and Coordination

• The consultant will report to the Regional A2J Coordinator, the Project Manager and the Technical Adviser – Gender Justice, Tdh Nigeria.
• Regular check-ins will be conducted (weekly or milestone-based) 
• Coordination will be maintained with the Project Manager and relevant stakeholders

Ethical Considerations

The study must adhere to:

• Survivor-centered principles (safety, dignity, confidentiality) 
• Informed consent procedures
• Child safeguarding standards 
• Do No Harm principles 
• Secure data management and protection 

Appropriate referral pathways must be in place for any disclosures during the research.

Required Qualifications and Experience

The consultancy firm / lead consultant should demonstrate:

• Proven experience in GBV research in humanitarian settings 
• Expertise in access to justice and legal systems analysis 
• Strong experience with participatory and qualitative methodologies 
• Knowledge of gender, protection, and child safeguarding 
• Experience working in Nigeria or similar contexts 
• Strong analytical and report-writing skills

Payment Structure

• Payment will be milestone-based, linked to deliverables: 
  • 40% on submission of Inception Report 
  • 60 % on completion of assignment and submission Final Report  

Expected Outcome

• Improved understanding of barriers to justice for SGBV survivors.
• Strengthened evidence base for programming and advocacy.
• Practical tools (Guidelines and SOPs) to improve legal handling of GBV cases
• Improved coordination between GBV and justice actors
• Strengthened referral and case management systems
• Consultant will deliver all raw datasets to Tdh in an encrypted, anonymized format. Data will be managed according to Tdh’s Data Management and Protection Policy Framework, to ensure compliance with GDPR and other relevant regulations.