SOGIESC Consultant

Result of Service The consultant will deliver: 1. Desk review of existing literature on SOGIESC in disaster risk reduction. 2. A short report and guide that outlines recommendations on how the disaster risk faced by people of diverse SOGIESC can be reduced, identifying different entry points depending on country contexts. 3. A short training module that captures the key findings of the study and shares the recommendations.

Work Location Home-based

Expected duration The contract duration will be from 15 August – 31 October 2022 for an expected 26 days work within this time-period.

Duties and Responsibilities Background

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was developed to be an all-of-society framework to reduce disaster risk. One of the guiding principles of the Sendai Framework is to promote and protect all human rights, including the right to development. The Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, which is currently underway, offers an opportunity to consider the ways in which the guiding principles of the Sendai Framework are being implemented, and to reassess how discrimination and exclusion exacerbates disaster risks, and can diminish coping capacities for people with diverse SOGIESC.

In many countries, people with diverse SOGIESC face legal, social, cultural and economic barriers which exacerbate their disaster risk, and sees their capacities, knowledge and skills sidelined or ignored. At the same time, in many contexts LGBTQIA+ communities have developed strong support networks that has built their collective resilience, and there are lessons that can be learnt from how this social capital has been built and sustained over a long period of time which would benefit wider community resilience efforts. Yet this is not an adequate replacement to inclusive disaster risk reduction strategies, policies and programmes that through a human rights-based approach seek to address underlying inequalities and discriminatory policies and practices that drive disaster risk.

While evidence on the impact of disasters on people of diverse SOGIESC is growing, in large part to the contributions of various academics, and organisations like Edge Effect and other partners through the Pride in Humanitarian System consultation and follow up report The Only Way Is Up: Monitoring and Encouraging Diverse SOGIESC Inclusion in the Humanitarian and DRR Sectors; less attention has been given to disaster risk reduction efforts and the ways in which the exposure and vulnerability to hazards that LGBTQIA+ people face can be reduced.

This scoping study will contribute to the midterm review of the Sendai Framework and aims to influence the ways in which UNDRR shows leadership on inclusive DRR as well as engages with governments and other stakeholders in order to reduce disaster risk for all.

Duty and Responsibility

The consultant will be responsible for conducting a scoping study to review how diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) is being integrated into disaster risk reduction policies, strategies and programmes within governments, civil society and the private sector; and to identify entry points and make recommendations as to how the specific risks and vulnerabilities faced by LGBTQIA+ people can be reduced.

Guided by a desk review of existing literature on SOGIESC in disaster risk reduction and consultations with relevant stakeholders, particularly those from the global south, the study will identify promising practices being implemented by governments or other actors, and make recommendations as to how these efforts can be further strengthened, as well as identify DRR approaches which inadvertently or otherwise may exacerbate discrimination and inequalities faced by LGBTQIA+ people that drives disaster risk.

On the basis of the literature review and consultations a guide that outlines recommendations on how the disaster risk faced by people of diverse SOGIESC can be reduced will be developed. The recommendations will be accompanied by a user-friendly guidance to assist governments in their efforts to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in a way that reduces the discrimination and exclusion faced by LGBTQIA+ people in different contexts, and promotes and upholds human rights.

Finally, a short (60 min) training module on diverse SOGIESC in DRR will be developed that captures the key findings of the study and shares the recommendations.

Qualifications/special skills Academic Qualifications: Advanced university degree in Gender, Law, Disaster Risk Reduction, Social Sciences, International Relations, Development Studies, Political Science, or any other relevant field. Experience: At least 7 years of relevant experience on international human rights, disaster risk reduction, and/or development and research across the Asia-Pacific region is required.

Field/country-level experience on capacity development and/or technical assistance on human rights, disaster risk, vulnerability and capacity assessment is desired.

Experience working on LGBTQIA+ issues is highly desirable.

Experience with the UN and in the Asia-Pacific region is desirable. Language: Fluency in English is required.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.