- Background Information on Plan International
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.
We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected. Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.
We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.
We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 75 years, and are now active in more than 70 countries.
Read more about Plan International’s Global Strategy: 100 Million Reasons at https://plan-international.org/strategy
- Background/Context
Millions of people have been displaced as a result of active hostilities and bombardment inside Ukraine since 24th February 2022. As of 1 April, approximately 7.1 million people have been forcibly displaced within Ukraine – around 16 per cent of the country’s population[1]. More than 6.5 million (6,595,675) refugees from Ukraine – Ukrainian and Third Country Nationals – have fled into neighbouring countries (Poland, Romania, Hungary, Moldova, Belarus, Slovakia) while others have moved elsewhere[2].
The gendered dynamics of the Ukraine crisis present specific needs requiring a highly targeted approach. Ukraine’s population has more women (54%) than men (46%), which together with restrictions placed on adult Ukraine men (18 – 60 years) to stay and join the fighting, has contributed to a distinct gender disparity in Ukraine’s internally displaced population and refugees. According to UNHCR, 93% of those leaving Ukraine for neighbouring countries are women, children and the elderly. Similarly, women, children and the elderly represent the majority of those displaced inside Ukraine. In general, those remaining in conflict-affected cities in the east and south are male adults, and those unable to leave including People with Disabilities (PWD) and the elderly. It is also estimated that about 36% of those fleeing Ukraine are children under 14 years, many of whom are unaccompanied or separated. This raises concerns of the heightened risk of human trafficking, exploitation and an acute child protection crisis.
The manner in which children, adolescents and young people experience conflict and displacement can be distinctly different from the experiences of adult men and women. This results in needs and problems specific to this affected population. For any humanitarian response to be effective, consultation with and participation of the affected population is crucial to build a strong case for response actions. It is therefore vital that the specific needs and concerns facing children, adolescents and young people affected by the crisis are understood, documented and taken into consideration when developing and reviewing strategies and key advocacy messages for response, and to influence decision making at national, regional and global level.
Current rapid gender analysis reports have highlighted the need to consult with Ukrainian women leaders and representatives of marginalised groups like Disability Rights Organisations and the Roma community to understand the needs they have identified and to increase their influence in making humanitarian decisions in and for their communities. However, there is an information gap within the Ukraine response, on the unique perspectives and experiences of children, adolescents and young people affected by the crisis. There is a need to consult and document issues specific to this highly vulnerable and affected groups within the larger affected population. This will provide opportunities for meaningful participation and ensure their voices contribute to the design and implementation of an effective response in line with the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability CHS). Additionally, the children’s consultations and participation will provide validated insights to support delivery of protection and advocacy interventions particularly for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, unaccompanied and separated children, people with disabilities (PWD), members of minority ethnic groups, girls and women as well as Protection from sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (PSEAH), in line with the Ukraine Regional Refugee Response Plan and ethical and safety recommendations for researching, documenting and monitoring sexual violence in emergencies.
An inter-agency approach will add value to the children’s consultations and participation by bringing together the collective experience and resources from child and gender focused partners with active responses in Ukraine and the border countries, in support of local and national child protection authorities. This collective action will create an opportunity to identify concerns and gaps for joint advocacy and expanded partnerships beyond the consultations. The framework of the children’s consultations will be guided and adapted from similar inter-agency children’s consultations in Nepal (Children’s Earthquake Recovery Assessment) and the Rohingya Response in Bangladesh (Childhood Interrupted: Children’s Voices from the Rohingya Refugee Crisis) as well as more recent child consultations in Eastern Ukraine, before the crisis (Listen To Us: Girls’ and boys’ gendered experiences of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and Researching Unaccompanied and Separated Children on the Move: Lessons learned).
Moreover, as we see the strong government-led nature of the response, ensuring child and youth voices as advisory to the government is key. Exploring the right mechanisms for that, after the results of the first round of consultation is out, will be the second key step of the initiative. In consultation with local actors and national authorities, and guided by mapping of existing national and local child and youth advocacy structures, a system strengthening approach will be undertaken to ensure sustainability of existing or complementary child and youth-led advisory bodies that influence the response, act as strong advocacy elements, and ensure child and youth needs are being considered.
Subsequently, Plan International, Save the Children, UNICEF and UNHCR will collaborate to plan and deliver this inter-agency initiative in a phased approach, starting with Poland and Ukraine, thereafter transitioning to Moldova and Romania.
This inter-agency initiative will purposely work with local partners in the focus countries to ensure ownership and capacity strengthening to support continuous children’s consultation throughout the programme cycle of the response. The phased approach will dedicate 6 – 8 weeks per cluster of two focus countries, with a replication of the process in the next phase – including country-focused adaptations.
RFQ_FY22_127_Ukraine Crisis- Inter-agency Children’s Consultation