Request for Expression of Interest Researcher specialized in quantitative research

Request for Expression of Interest

Researcher specialized in quantitative research

Project: I-CARE Global Imperative Indicator

Unidentified Victims Portrayed on Child Abuse Images

INTRODUCTION

ECPAT International is a global network of civil society organisations working together to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children. It seeks to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights free and secure from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation. The ECPAT network currently has 90 member organisations in 82 countries in all regions of the world. All members are independent organisations or coalitions working against the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). The Secretariat of the Network is based in Bangkok, Thailand.

In her December 2014 Report to the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography called on States to “conduct research […] in order to obtain a comprehensive picture of the phenomena […]” and to “establish a reliable and standard information on the phenomena”.

The same month, taking place in London, the then #WePROTECT Children Online Global Summit that was convened by the United Kingdom government clearly highlighted the need for development of indicators and collection of data. At the Summit, ECPAT International pledged to promote research on online child sexual exploitation (OCSE).

While in general, there is scarcity of research/data on child sexual abuse images due to complex, clandestine and criminal nature of the phenomena, some studies documenting the use of technologies to sexually exploit and abuse children have been conducted. However, most of these have been underfunded and data reported is most often not statistically significant. There is an urgent need to address the research gap on this emerging issue for evidence based advocacy and programming.

The I-CARE project is an INTERPOL-led and EU-funded project which started in January 2016. ECPAT International as one of the project partners is responsible for the implementation of one of its work packages. The objective of this package is to produce a Global Imperative Indicator (GII) measuring the number and profile of unidentified victims in the International Child Sexual Exploitation Database (ICSE) of child sexual abuse material housed at INTERPOL.

The GII is intended as a tool to advocate for States to allocate the needed resources to address the situation regarding sexual abuse and exploitation of children, guide decision-making processes related to legislation/law enforcement, policy and programmes, raise public awareness and both monitor and measure progress in the field of victim identification. A key element of the project is the production and publication of metrics.

The project will be implemented by ECPAT’s Combating Sexual Exploitation of Children Online (SECO) Programme. For its implementation, ECPAT is currently seeking a Researcher specialized in quantitative research (referred to hereafter as the I-CARE Researcher)**.**

The I-CARE Researcher, together with ECPAT I-CARE Project Manager, under the guidance of a Technical Committee, will work closely with INTERPOL to identify and collect statistics which will be extracted from the INTERPOL ICSE database. As such, the I-CARE Researcher will not have access to Child Sexual Abuse Images but will analyze the relevant statistics and data. The concrete deliverables will be two consecutive annual Advocacy Reports (2016 edition and 2017 edition) and corresponding summary reports. Ethical challenges which may arise will be carefully addressed together with INTERPOL.

The Project Team will comprise of the I-CARE Researcher, the ECPAT Project Manager, ECPAT International Head of Research. The team works under the technical guidance of the Technical Committee of Experts set up to assess the methodology and to validate the findings.

The I-CARE Researcher will work remotely and reports to the ECPAT Project Manager.

MAIN TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The I-CARE Researcher shall:

A. DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A ROBUST RESEARCH PROTOCOL

· In close collaboration with the ECPAT Project Manager and the Technical Committee, elaborate the Research Protocol which will define the main research areas/questions, its design, methodology, identify relevant data fields in ICSE, the statistical evaluation of the data, risks associated to the study, ethical challenges, data preservation, data retention, and all other relevant aspects;

· Initiate contacts with data source to discuss data sharing processes and data collection;

· Submit the final version of the Research Protocol for approval to ECPAT and INTERPOL;

B. DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING

· Strictly adhere to the research protocol throughout the research process;

· Create a model for the analysis of the data which can form a Global Imperative Indicator under the guidance of the Technical Committee;

· Carry-out the collection and processing of the quantitative data from INTERPOL source;

· Seek and follow the guidance of the Technical Committee throughout the process.

C. DATA ANALISIS AND PRODUCTION OF THE ADVOCACY REPORTS

· Analyze the data collected;

· Produce a set of metrics called the Global Imperative Indicator;

· Make sure to seek inputs from ECPAT Project Manager and the members of the Technical Committee and incorporate these;

· Provide input in two annual advocacy reports.

D. COORDINATE WITH THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE TO VALIDATE FINDINGS

· Liaise with the members of the Technical Committee to ensure the findings of the draft version of both annual reports are validated as per the terms of the time line indicated below.

E. GENERAL DUTIES

· Update ECPAT Project Manager regularly on the status of the assignments;

· Attend coordination meetings and technical meetings (face-to-face and remotely);

· Travel internationally to attend the face-to-face meetings when required.

Expected time line

September 2016- December 2017- detailed work planning to be agreed upon with selected candidate.

ASSIGNMENT

ECPAT seeks to immediately contract an I-CARE Researcherspecialized in quantitative research on a consultancy basis for a total number of 140 working days, starting 1 September 2016 and ending 30 December 2017.

The position is home based with international travel missions.

Supervisor: ECPAT Project manager

QUALIFICATIONS

· Background in conducting research on topics related to computer-facilitated sexual exploitation of children or cybercrime;

· Experience in producing research outputs;

· Training and expertise in analyzing primary data;

· Proficiency in statistical data analysis techniques and using SPSS or any other similar specialized software;

· Strong quantitative analysis skills;

· A background in survey methodologies;

· Capacity to write clearly and concisely in English demonstrated by a track record of publications in academic journals and/or major presses;

· Ability to work under pressure and with multi-cultural teams;

· Ability to travel internationally;

· Experience in working remotely with consultants and partners;

Desirable:

· Prior experience of partnering with law enforcement.

Interested candidates are requested to send in their CV, detailed overview of relevant research experience, and a cover letter indicating requested daily fee.

Interested candidates are requested to send in their CV, detailed overview of relevant research experience, and a cover letter indicating requested daily fee.

Submission of expression of interest: vacancy@ecpat.net, please mention in the subject line: I-CARE Researcher.