Consultant in Bangladesh: Gathering data from children with disabilities to prevent online child sexual exploitation

Terre des Hommes is looking for a Consultant to complete data collection to explore how children with disabilities in Bangladesh can be empowered to be safe from online sexual exploitation.

Background

Terre des Hommes Netherlands (TdH NL) is a child rights organisation and an international NGO. Our vision is that children can flourish in a world free from all forms of child exploitation. Our mission is to protect children by preventing and stopping child exploitation, and by empowering children to make their voices count. In executing our mission we seek to address the root causes of exploitation by creating scalable, evidence-based solutions and influencing systemic change rather than providing one-off remedies.

TdH NL is implementing a participatory action research project on online sexual exploitation of children (OCSE) in three countries. This research delves into the intersectional dimensions of online sexual exploitation through a deeper analysis of the data collected in a previously conducted research. The current research will consist of three additional case studies to examine the impact of OCSE risks and marginalised identities on the risk of exploitation.

Terre des Hommes Netherlands stresses the intersectionality angle in child protection, which focuses on overlapping or intersecting factors that can be empowering or oppressive, from gender and race to a limitless set of factors, including socioeconomic class, age, sexual orientation and disability. There is a significant gap in data on the specific links between intersectional factors and OSCE.

Objective of the study

The objective of this study, as one of the case studies, is to explore the risk and protection factors of children with disabilities in Bangladesh and how they can be empowered to be safe from online sexual exploitation. The research aims to:

1. Gain insight into how children with disabilities in Bangladesh navigate the online world, including safety and risk;
2. Identify specific strengths and needs of children with disabilities in Bangladesh and their parents / caregivers in ensuring online safety;
3. Determine good practices and gaps in actions of relevant stakeholders to promote online safety from child sexual exploitation for these children.

Outputs

The consultant is expected to deliver the following:

1. Advise on the types and severity of impairment to include in the study sampling approach (October);
2. Technical advice to strengthen the research methodology and ensure that data collection and dissemination methods are accessible to children with the types of impairments sampled for (October);
3. A child safeguarding risk assessment and mitigation plan (October);
4. Qualitative methods with children (such as focus group discussions, based on advice of expert), interviews with parents and caregivers and interviews with stakeholders (between 15-25 participants for each group) based on guidelines and questionnaires prepared by TdH NL (November - January);
5. Providing all raw data and verbatim transcripts in original language of capture and with a translated version in English, as well as filled out note taking templates (End of January);
6. A context analysis of the position of power of children with disabilities in Bangladesh (November - January);
7. Setting up a validation exercise with research participants (Q2 2025).

The consultant may decide to collaborate with other researchers on this assignment. We suggest at least one person that could serve as a child safeguarding person as well as taking observational notes, in addition to the interviewer. All people working on this assignment should be detailed in the proposed work plan and their CVs should be added.

Important to note: the assignment is primarily focused on data collection. The research methodology will largely be designed by Terre des Hommes Netherlands to ensure alignment with the case studies in other countries. The successful consultant will be engaged to 1) strengthen and adjust the methodology, 2) finding, selecting and preparing research participants, 3) carrying out the data collection activities, and 4) providing raw data and note taking templates to TdH NL. The analysis and report writing will be done by TdH NL. The successful applicant will also be engaged for validation activities with research participants.

Profile

Desired consultants will have:

• Extensive experience in conducting participatory action research and qualitative research methodologies, including focus group discussions and (small group) interviews;
• Expertise in child protection and online safety;
• Extensive experience and/or expertise in working with children with disabilities and conducting inclusive research that makes specific accommodations for children with various impairments;
• Strong understanding of intersectionality, having a disability and its impact on child sexual exploitation;
• Preference for candidates from Bangladesh to ensure cultural and contextual understanding, speaking Bangla or local languages to facilitate communication with the target groups.
• Ability to communicate in English and translate reports into English.
• A cleared police background check.
• Experience with co-designing research methodology with children is preferred.
• Available to start from 1 October or ASAP with a foreseen end date of June 2025

Who can apply

Any individual or agency fitting the profile mentioned can apply. Agencies need to have no conflict of interest and a due diligence check will be part of the selection procedure.

Important to note: as a child rights organisation, we want to uphold the highest level of safeguarding to protect children. This is reflected in our recruitment process. This includes checking two references, a cleared police background check, and signing our Code of Conduct with Child Safeguarding procedures. Methodology training with child safeguarding procedures will be mandatory before commencing with data collection.