Tenders are invited for Baseline Study of Equipping Faith Actors and Communities to Restore Hope, Build Resilience and Promote Peace for a Brighter Future in the Great Lakes Region (Hts)Project Location: Kigali Deadline: Thursday, 13/11/2025 17:00 TERMS OF REFERENCE Baseline Study of Equipping faith actors and communities to restore hope, build resilience and promote peace for a brighter future in the Great Lakes Region (HTS)Project (2025-2028) Funded by Tearfund Germany May 2025 1. Introduction The Terms of Reference provides details on the Baseline study to be conducted for the Equipping faith actors and communities to restore hope, build resilience and promote peace for a brighter future in the Great Lakes Region (HTS)project and outlines the tasks and deliverables that the successful consultant(s) will undertake. 2. Background Tearfund is a Christian international aid and development agency working globally to end poverty and injustice, and to restore dignity and hope in the worlds poorest communities. Tearfund operates in more than fifty countries around the world, working with a network of local partners, churches and communities, speaking out on behalf of poor people, campaigning for justice and raising the profile of key poverty issues, as well as building the resilience and capacity of local communities to develop and respond to disasters. Tearfund in Rwanda, in partnership with Anglican Diocese of Kigali and the Pentecostal Church of Rwanda (ADEPR) have successfully secured funding from Tearfund Germany, to implement a 3-year (2025 -2028) project Equipping faith actors and communities to restore hope, build resilience and promote peace for a brighter future in the Great Lakes Region. The project aims to strengthen peace, resilience and social cohesion in conflict-affected communities of the Great Lakes Region in Rwandas case Gasabo and Nyarugengege districts. The project targets to address tensions, promote community led peace initiatives and foster social cohesion in target communities (ex-prisoners, returnees, internally displaced persons and host communities) and strengthen regional peace building initiatives and peace builders networks. Project Situation Analysis Marital and Domestic Conflict Baseline ToR November 2025 Marital conflict and domestic violence is a primary form of conflict in Rwanda12. Studies show that the genocide has been a vector for the transmission of violence or other maladapted behaviours from one generation to the next. Conflict-related sexual violence (rape, forced marriage, genital mutilation, sexual enslavement) does not only affect individual survivors, but entire families and communities, leaving complex intergenerational legacies. This includes mistaken expectations of marriage, increased separation, divorce, depression, poor communication, and unilateral decision-making within Rwandan families. According to the Rwandas Demographic and Health Survey 2019/20, 37% of women and girls who are aged between 15-49 had experienced physical, sexual, or psychological violence. The corresponding proportions among men are 30%. The same report indicated that 46% of ever-married women and 18% of ever-married men have experienced spousal, physical, sexual, or emotional violence3. Violence against children is slightly above the regional average 60 per cent of boys and 37 per cent of girls in Rwanda experience physical violence. Sexual violence rates are also high, with 24 per cent of girls and 10 per cent of boys experiencing sexual violence before age 184. Peacebuilding efforts need to address family relations in order that transmission of trauma, violence and propensities to divisionism do not continue across generations, risking future conflict. Gender Norms Studies have shown that periods of conflict can break down gendered barriers between the public and private spheres. The killing of a large number of Rwandan men left behind a population of majority women. This changed gender dynamics such that it led women to engage more in public life, take on their deceased relatives business and to organise among each other to rebuild their communities.5 Politically, gender mainstreaming efforts have been made in Rwanda and womens rights advanced through protective laws (property and inheritance, womens representation in government decision-making bodies, penalty for gender-based violence).6 While women have been empowered in the public and political spheres, in their private, domestic sphere, they are still constrained by deeply ingrained prescribed and proscribed gender roles7. Moreover, there is a notable rural/urban divide when it comes to cultural codes of conduct for men and women and implementation of protective laws. Rural women often lack decision-making power in the home or protection through unformalised domestic partnerships, and struggle to own or access land. They remain primary caregivers while experiencing significant economic precarity and being underrepresented in decision-making bodies. Patriarchal gender norms affect marital conflict and efforts at peacebuilding; when women are not empowered and depend completely on their husbands, it can cause significant financial strain, conflict and violence. Women also continue to face threat and stigma for reporting cases of gender-based violence. Reconciliation, Healing and Mental Health 1 https://journals.lww.com/invn/fulltext/2018/16010/marital_conflict_in_the_aftermath_of_genocide_in.4.aspx 2 https://www.interpeace.org /wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020-Great_Lakes_-_Recherche_sur_la_resilience-Exec-Sum-EN.pdf 3 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda, Rwanda Demographic and Health Survey 2019/20 4 https://www.unicef.org /rwanda/media/5391/file/Child%20Protection%20in%20Rwanda.pdf 5 Doan L (2010) Rwandan Women and the 1994 Genocide: The Effect on their Social and Political Roles. Georgetown University.6 Hunt S (2017) Rwandan Women Rising. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. 7 Brown S, Reshaping Gender Norms Post-Genocide Rwanda, Clark University Baseline ToR November 2025 2 Rwanda has been an example to other nations for the reconciliation, healing and peacebuilding efforts that have taken place. However there remains significant need. The Rwanda Reconciliation Barometer 2020 (RRB) identified unhealed wounds as a barrier to reconciliation, and the need for more healing programmes that include components forgiveness and apology8. The Rwanda Mental Health Survey also records high prevalence of mental health disorders nationally (women, 23.2%, men, 16.6%), particularly among genocide survivors (women, 53.3%, men 48.8%)9. Women are more affected, with higher rates of disorders such as major depressive episodes and panic disorders are present among women compared to men, and among poorer, illiterate populations than those who are educated. In the projects target districts the rates of mental disorders are: Gasabo 33.8%, Nyarugenge 23.8%, Bugesera 22.2%, Nyamagabe 26%, Musanze 23.9%, Rubavu 19%. Despite the rate of mental health problems, awareness and uptake of mental health services are low. 61.7% of the general population state they are aware of available services, but only 5.3% report using them. Reasons include not understanding that mental health is an issue requiring treatment, lack of money, inability to reach the location of services and fear of stigmatisation. Poor psycho-social health results in hopelessness, anxiety, stigma, thoughts of revenge, shame, depression, and antisocial behaviours. This is true also of Rwanda youth, who are experiencing increased psychological problems in the aftermath of the genocide. The impact of transgenerational trauma, the transmission of memories, attitudes and emotions, can manifest in young people through loneliness, difficulty in trusting others, despondency, lack of interest, academic drop out, alcohol and drug addiction10. For the descendants of perpetrators there is shame and humiliation of their relatives crimes. Research identifies the need for mental health to be addressed in peacebuilding approaches to be effective in breaking cycles of violence and enabling sustainable peace11. Release of prisoners New dynamics also present challenges and a risk to the achievements made so far. Prisoners who have served long sentences for genocidal crimes are continually released back into communities. Statistics from Rwanda Correctional Service show that 16,000 genocide convicts will complete their sentences by 2056. In the next 3 years, 8,810 prisoners will be released. Prisoners returning to communities can cause distress, tension and anxiety among families of genocide survivors and the community in general. Released prisoners also struggle to integrate after so many years in prison; local realities have changed as well as the dynamics of personal relationships. Fear and shame can lead ex-prisoners to self-isolation, and difficulties in finding employment due to lack of skill and stigma can result in poverty and potentially lead to recidivism. Preparatory support is needed to give prisoners a chance of reintegrating well into communities, as well as preparation among families and communities to receive them. The number of prisoners to be released from prisons by 2027 in the projects targeted districts are: Bugesera 530, Nyarugenge 520, Nyamagabe 483, Musanze 43, Rubavu 644. Project Overview & Target Groups 8 Rwanda Reconciliation Barometer, 2020 9 https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-022-14165-x 10 Biracyaza & Habimana, Contribution of community-based sociotherapy interventions for the psychological well-being of Rwandan youths born to genocide perpetrators and survivors: analysis of the stories telling of a sociotherapy approach, BMC Psychology 2020 11 Peace of Mind: Integrating mental health an Tender Link : https://www.jobinrwanda.com/job/terms-reference-baseline-study-equipping-faith-actors-and-communities-restore-hope-build
