ToR Call for Production service to Compile Case Stories and Produce a Documentary on Conflict’s Impact on Wome

1. Background about NEWA

The Network of Ethiopian Women’s Associations (NEWA) is a non-partisan, non-governmental national network established in 2003, comprising over 55 member organizations working across Ethiopia to promote gender equality and women’s rights.

NEWA plays a critical role in coordinating advocacy, strengthening institutional capacities, and amplifying the voices of women’s organizations. As part of its strategic focus, NEWA implements programs aimed at preventing and responding to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), particularly in conflict-affected and vulnerable settings.

With support from development partners, NEWA is implementing interventions to improve legal frameworks, service delivery systems, and accountability mechanisms for SGBV survivors. However, there remains a critical need to document lived experiences of women affected by conflict and SGBV to inform advocacy, policy influence, and program design.

2. Background of the Assignment

Conflict situations in Ethiopia have significantly exacerbated risks of SGBV, disrupted essential services, and left many survivors without adequate support. Despite ongoing interventions, there is limited systematic documentation of survivor experiences and the real impact of conflict on women and girls.

Story-based advocacy through documented case stories and visual storytelling (documentaries), is a powerful approach to influence stakeholders, raise awareness, and mobilize resources for improved SGBV services.

This assignment is therefore designed to generate high-quality, ethical, and survivor-centered case stories and produce a compelling documentary that highlights the realities faced by women in conflict-affected regions including Amhara (Ambasel, Werebabo and Albuko), Tigray (Mekele, Adigudom and Hagereselam)

3. Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is to document and amplify the voices and experiences of women affected by conflict and SGBV, and to produce evidence-based advocacy materials (case stories and documentary) that support improved SGBV prevention and response services.

4. Objectives

4.1 General Objective

• To strengthen advocacy efforts for improved SGBV services through evidence-based storytelling and documentation. 

4.2 Specific Objectives

• To collect and compile high-quality, survivor-centered case stories from two selected conflict-affected area in the Tigray Region (Adigudom, Hagereselam or Mekele) and two selected conflict-affected area in the Amhara Region (Ambasel, Werebabo, or Albuko).
• To document the impact of conflict on women’s safety, dignity, and access to services 
• To produce a professional documentary highlighting key issues, gaps, and survivor experiences 
• To document the efforts of NEWA in addressing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in conflict-affected areas.
• To generate evidence for advocacy, lobbying, and policy influence targeting policymakers, stakeholders, and communities.
• To ensure ethical, safe, and confidential documentation practices

5. Expected Outcomes of the Assignment

The assignment is expected to result in:

• A collection of well-documented, ethically produced case stories. 
• A high-quality documentary film suitable for advocacy and public engagement (15–20 minutes recommended). 

• A short highlight video from the documentary film (5–7 minutes) that highlights documentary and supporting advocacy, donor engagement, and public awareness efforts. 

• Increased visibility of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) issues in conflict settings. 
• Strengthened evidence base for influencing policy and programming. 
• Enhanced stakeholder awareness of gaps in SGBV service provision and response systems.

6. Scope of Work

The Service provider will undertake the following tasks:

• Review relevant project documents, reports, and background materials provided by Network of Ethiopian Women’s Associations (NEWA). 
• Develop a detailed inception report outlining the methodology, data collection tools, ethical considerations, work plan, and implementation timeline for the assignment. 

• Develop and document short case stories and scenarios highlighting Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in conflict-affected communities, drawing from two selected area in the Tigray Region (Adigudom ,  Hagere selamor Mekele) and two selected area in the Amhara Region (Albuko, Ambasel, or Werebabo). The specific locations will be determined during implementation based on the prevailing context, accessibility, security considerations, and the feasibility of engaging affected communities and relevant stakeholders.

• Conduct field data collection using ethical, survivor-centered, gender-sensitive, and trauma-informed approaches. 
• Compile, document, and organize survivor case stories and human-interest narratives in written format. 
• Ensure informed consent, confidentiality, safeguarding, and “do no harm” principles are strictly maintained throughout the assignment. 
• Capture high-quality video footage, interviews, ambient sound, and contextual visuals relevant to the assignment objectives. 
• Capture footage and narratives reflecting NEWA’s institutional role and contributions, including interviews with stakeholder community actors, and survivors who have benefited from NEWA-supported initiatives and interventions. 
• Incorporate NEWA’s reports on the implementation of the UNTF project into the narrative documentation, including the compilation of videos and photographs from UNTF project events and activities.
• Develop a clear and concise documentary storyline that communicates NEWA’s mission, goals, achievements, and contributions in strengthening SGBV prevention, advocacy, referral systems, and survivor support services. 
• Produce a professional documentary film, including scripting, editing, narration, subtitling, translation (from local language into English), sound design, and post-production work. 
• Produce a short organizational documentary film highlighting NEWA’s programs, advocacy efforts, achievements, partnerships, and institutional impact in addressing SGBV and supporting conflict-affected women and girls. 
• Integrate key themes throughout the documentation and film production process, including:
  • Impact of conflict on women and girls; 
  • Access to SGBV-related services (health, legal, psychosocial, and protection services); 
  • Barriers to service access and utilization; 
  • Survivor resilience, coping mechanisms, and recovery journeys; 
  • Gaps and challenges within existing response systems; and 
  • The role of civil society organizations, including NEWA, in strengthening prevention and response efforts. 
• Validate key findings, case stories, scripts, and draft audio-visual outputs with NEWA prior to finalization. 
• Submit all final deliverables, including raw and edited audio-visual materials, documentary films, case stories, reports, subtitles, transcripts, and other agreed outputs in soft-copy format.
• One short highlight video (for social media)
• Interviews, B-roll footage, English subtitles, branding, and final editing
• Delivery in Full HD (1080p) or 4k
• All Raw Data file will document

7. Methodology

The service provider is expected to apply a participatory, ethical, and conflict-sensitive approach, including:

• Key informant interviews and survivor testimonies 
• Case story documentation techniques 
• Audio-visual recording and storytelling 
• Do-no-harm and survivor-centered principles 
• Gender-sensitive and culturally appropriate approaches 
• Triangulation of information where applicable 

All processes must strictly adhere to ethical standards for working with SGBV survivors.

8. Key Deliverables

The consultant/firm is expected to deliver:

1. Inception Report detailing the methodology, tools, work plan, and timeline for the assignment. 
2. Script developed and submitted prior to field implementation. 

3. Main Documentary Film documented case stories: documented survivor case stories (or as agreed with NEWA, capturing the impact of conflict on women and girls). A professionally produced documentary film (15–20 minutes recommended) focusing on the impact of conflict on women, including survivor narratives, community perspectives, and key findings from the assignment. 

4. Highlights of Documentary Film: A short highlight video from the full documentary film (5-7 minutes) Short Edited Advocacy Clips for social media derived from the documentary footage for awareness raising and advocacy purposes. 

5. Short Edited Advocacy Clips for social media derived from the documentary footage for awareness raising and advocacy purposes. 

6. Raw and Edited Audio-Visual Materials and Soft Copies of All Outputs submitted in accessible digital formats, including reports, documentaries, case stories, advocacy clips, transcripts, and supporting materials.

9. Duration and Level of Effort

The assignment is expected to be completed within:

Total full documentary duration: Approximately 15-20 days

10. Language

English subtitles required for all videos

We encourage understanding of Local languages 

10. Logistics

• Location: Selected conflict-affected regions in Ethiopia 
• Coordination: Flight, local transportation, per-diem and accommodation will be covered by service provider (film producer)

11. Reporting

The service provider will report directly to the assigned NEWA program focal person.

All deliverables must be submitted in English.

Annex: ToR Call for Production service to Compile Case Stories and Produce a Documentary on Conflict’s Impact on Women to Advocate for Improved SGBV Services in Conflict-Affected Regions