J.7_USAID_Liberia_Gender_Assessment.pdf

DISCLAIMER

The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

GENDER ASSESSMENT

June 2018

This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It was prepared by Liberia Strategic Analysis.

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 i

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acronyms............................................................................................................................................................................... ii

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................ iv

Methodology............................................................................................................................................................... iv

Key Findings by DO .................................................................................................................................................. iv

Cross-cutting Issues .................................................................................................................................................. vi

Policies, Plans, and Laws .......................................................................................................................................... vi

Recommendations .................................................................................................................................................... vii

I. Introduction

Background and Purpose

II. Methodology

Secondary Data Analysis

Primary Data Collection

Data Analysis

Limitations

III. Findings by Key Question

Assessment Question 1

Assessment Question 2

Assessment Question 3

Assessment Question 4

Assessment Question 5

IV. Conclusions

Annex I: USAID/Liberia Results Framework

Annex II: List of Desk Review Documents

Annex III: Scope of Work

Annex IV: Illustrative Key Informant Interview - Template

Annex V: List of Interviews and Focus Groups Conducted

Annex VI: List of Gender-specific Indicators

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 ii

ACRONYMS

5DE Five Domains of Empowerment Sub-Index ADS Automated Directives System (Operational Policy) AQE Accelerated Quality Education AYP Advancing Youth Project CBO Community-Based Organization CCGAP Liberia Climate Change Gender Action Plan CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CPIA Country Policy and Institutional Assessment CSO Civil Society Organization DG Democracy and Governance DHS Demographic and Health Survey DO Development Objective EG Economic Growth EHELD Excellence in Higher Education for Liberian Development EQUAL Education Quality and Access Project EVD Ebola Virus Disease F2MRR Farm to Market Roads Rehabilitation FAO Food and Agriculture Organization FARA Fixed Amount Reimbursement Agreement FFP Food for Peace FGC Female Genital Cutting FGD Focus Group Discussion FIFES Forest Incomes for Environment Sustainability FP Family Planning GBV Gender-Based Violence GEMS Governance and Economic Management Support GEWEE Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment GGGR Global Gender Gap Report GI Group Interview GoL Government of Liberia GPI Gender Parity Index IFES International Foundation for Electoral Systems IGA Income Generating Activity ILO International Labor Organization IP Implementing Partner IPV Intimate Partner Violence KII Key Informant Interview LADA Liberia Agribusiness Development Activity LAVI Liberia Accountability and Voice Initiative LEAP Liberia Electoral Access and Participation LESSP Liberia Energy Sector Support Program LGBTI Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex LGSA Land Governance Support Activity LIPRIDE Liberia Initiative for the Promotion of Rights, Independence, Diversity and Equality LISGIS Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 iii

LNAP Liberia National Action Plan for the Implementation of UN Resolution LSA Liberia Strategic Analysis MGCSP Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection (formally MoGD) MoA Ministry of Agriculture MoGD Ministry of Gender and Development NDI National Democratic Institute NGO Non-Governmental Organization NGP National Gender Policy NRM Natural Resource Management PROSPER People Rules and Organizations Supporting the Protection of Ecosystem Resources Project PRS Poverty Reduction Strategy PSMP Public Sector Modernization Project SGBV Sexual and Gender-Based Violence SHINE Sustainable High Impact Infrastructure for Education and Agriculture SI Social Impact, Inc.

SIDA Swedish International Development Agency SLA Savings and Loan Association SOW Scope of Work TFR Total Fertility Rate TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Program UNESCO United Nations Educational, Science, and Cultural Organization UNFPA United Nations Populations Fund UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNMIL United Nations Mission in Liberia UNSCR United Nations Security Council Resolution USAID United States Agency for International Development WACSP Women and Children Protection Service WASH Water, Health and Sanitation WEAI Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index WEF World Economic Forum WONGOSOL Women’s Organization of NGOs of Liberia ZOI Zone of Influence

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 iv

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

USAID/Liberia engaged Social Impact, Inc. (SI), through the Liberia Strategic Analysis (LSA) activity to conduct a Gender Assessment of the Liberian development context from 2009 to 2017. USAID/Liberia will use findings from the assessment to inform the design of a new Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) for 2018. Key intended users of the assessment are USAID/Liberia, the Government of Liberia (GoL), and implementing partners. Secondary audiences include other donors and national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

This assessment seeks to update the 2009 USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment and address any gaps identified for the development of the next strategy by addressing the following questions:

1. What new or updated data exist on gender in Liberia since the 2009 Gender Assessment?

2. What do the data from 2009 to 2017 tell us about the state of women in Liberia and the effectiveness of donor, government, and civil society interventions in mitigating or addressing gender inequality?

3. What new gender-related policies, plans, or laws have been enacted in Liberia, and have they begun to yield any visible results?

4. What are the relevant gender gaps in the status and anticipated levels of participation of women and men that could hinder overall project outcomes defined in the USAID/Liberia Results Framework?

a. What key gender inequalities or needs for female empowerment could be addressed through USAID programs?

b. Are there any potential differential effects (including unintended or negative consequences) on women and men?

5. What strategy, program, and partnership approach should USAID/Liberia consider in the new CDCS regarding mitigating and addressing gender inequality, at the CDCS, development objective (DO), and program levels?

Methodology

This Gender Assessment consists of a systematic review of existing secondary data combined with primary data collection through key informant interviews (KIIs), small group interviews (GIs), and focus group discussions (FGDs). The desk review examined policy documents and reports from existing activities and projects to provide the background and framework for existing and recent efforts relevant to the strategic planning of the CDCS.

Qualitative data were collected in both urban and rural settings in four counties during August and September 2017. There were 178 total respondents, of which 116 were female and 62 male. Interview methods were evenly split, with a total of 11 KIIs, 11 GIs, and 11 FGDs, organized with USAID staff, Implementing Partners, relevant GoL ministries and county officers, United Nations organizations, civil society organizations, community-based organizations, and USAID beneficiaries.

Key Findings by DO

In 2014, Liberia was included for the first time in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report and ranked 112 out of 145 countries. Liberia was ranked above average in the Economic Participation and Opportunity and the Health and Survival sub-indices and below average for Educational Attainment and Political Empowerment. By 2017, Liberia had moved up to 107 out of 144 countries, which suggests slow and steady progress toward achieving greater gender parity.

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 v

DO 1: Democracy and Governance (DG)

Since the 2009 Gender Assessment, the GoL and donor-funded activities have made efforts to enhance women’s political participation and representation within public sector structures. The GoL aimed to reach 30 percent female staff and came close to this goal with approximately 28 percent of ministerial-level positions filled by women in 2012. The Weah administration seems to have appointed fewer women to key positions as compared to the Sirleaf administration. However, Liberian women are participating in political processes. Liberian gender dynamics are complex in that women have strong and active political participation, although less than their male counterparts. Women continue to suffer deep inequities in multiple sectors, primarily related to lack of education. The Government of Liberia is working to expand women’s roles in DG activities both in the public sector and by utilizing policy as a tool to promote social change. These efforts have shown mixed but generally positive results.

DO 2: Economic Growth

Most working women are employed within the agriculture and service sectors, and very few women are found within the professional, managerial, technical, or skilled labor sectors, limiting potential for economic growth. In some areas such as food crops, women’s participation exceeds male participation. However, women in agriculture are largely considered to be unempowered because of key constraints like a lack of autonomy in production. Insecure land ownership and land tenure continue to limit women’s access to credit, inputs, and, ultimately, productivity and financial empowerment.

The Ebola virus disease crisis, the drop in global commodity prices crisis, and increases in the cost of living that occurred from 2014 to 2015 had a lingering impact on women’s economic empowerment, especially women involved in Village Savings and Loans activities and cross-border trade.

DO 3: Health

The health data status of Liberians has remained about the same since the 2009 Gender Assessment, including general fertility rates, maternal mortality rates, and rates of young women who had their first baby by the age of 15. Maternal mortality and women’s access to quality care remains a major issue, especially for rural women who are far from health facilities. Slightly more than half of births take place in a healthcare facility. However, children born in rural settings are twice as likely to be delivered by a relative or friend, rather than a skilled provider, as compared to in the greater Monrovia area.

The issue of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is attracting growing attention both internationally and within Liberian society. Rape is one of the most frequently reported crimes in Liberia, and the rate of sexual violence against women in Liberia is among the highest in the world. Female Genital Cutting, which is also considered gender-based violence (GBV), is widely accepted and practiced in Liberia. This remains controversial because it is practiced by Liberia’s Traditional Sande School and highlights the lack of harmonization between Liberia’s traditional and national laws and the impact that has on gender roles and women’s rights.

DO 4: Education

The gender gap in education is large but closing gradually. Women continue to lag behind their male counterparts in educational attainment and number of years of school completed, particularly at the secondary level. However, the gender literacy gap is closing, with younger cohorts of women becoming literate at a faster rate than males.

One area that continues to be challenging for Liberian education is SGBV in schools. This is a pervasive issue at all levels of the education system that serves as a barrier for improving girls’ retention in schools, especially at the secondary and tertiary levels.

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 vi

Teaching has traditionally been a male-dominated field in Liberia, so USAID and other donors are also working to increase the percentage of female teachers qualified to lead classrooms to achieve gender parity among teachers and school administrators.

Cross-cutting Issues

Youth

Liberia has a very large youth population—hence the importance of engaging youth in the development process. This proportion of young people is equally distributed among males and females. Young men tend to have greater access to school and are more engaged in organizations, student groups, and political parties.

Young women typically have greater access to health information. However, teenage pregnancy and early marriage is a challenge, which appears to be linked to poverty and changes in social behavior and values.

Youth lack formal employment opportunities—particularly rural youth, who are more disenfranchised than their urban counterparts. There appears to be an increase in alcohol and drug use among youth. Overall, Liberian youth are perpetuating gender roles represented in the larger society—hence the importance of specific youth programming to positively impact gender equality.

Jobs

Women are participating in the labor force, lagging slightly behind their male counterparts. Women who do want to work typically can find work; however, this work tends to be in vulnerable employment. Women are often self-employed or contributing family members. These women are considered vulnerable because they are less likely to have formal work arrangements and are therefore more likely to lack decent working conditions or job security. While vulnerable employment affects most Liberians of both genders, it is even more relevant for women and female-headed households. Within the labor force, rates of men and women working with a primary school education are relatively the same. Those rates diverge with respect to secondary education: men in the labor force are twice as likely to have a secondary education.

Nutrition

Poor nutritional quality affects Liberians from the earliest stages of life. Approximately half of infants are exclusively breastfed, and stunting affects one third of Liberian children under five. Thus, malnutrition, with its continued legacy for future generations, is an essential challenge to address, to ensure both healthy Liberians and a more food secure nation overall.

Nutritional issues are even more common among Liberian boys, who have worse nutritional status than Liberian girls with regards to stunting, underweight, and wasting. This is related to the fact that boys in the earliest stages of growth are biologically more vulnerable to malnutrition than girls.

Policies, Plans, and Laws

Since the 2009 Gender Assessment, the Ministry of Gender and Development changed to the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection (MGCSP), incorporating children and social protection into its mandate. The National Gender Policy has been implemented, and the Ministry’s Strategic Plan for 2016– 2021 was established. The Liberia National Action Plan (LNAP) for the Implementation of UN Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (2009–2013) highlighted specific actions needed to promote and advance the inclusion of women in all processes that affect their peace and security, including health, education, sexual and gender-based violence prevention, governance, and policies that support improved empowerment for women and children. The LNAP provides policymakers a full list of all its focus areas, along with a framework for its implementation, including a full set of indications for each strategic issue.

Before the end of her tenure, President Sirleaf signed an Executive Order on Domestic Violence, which

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 vii includes a broader definition of what constitutes domestic violence than the Domestic Violence Law passed in 2017 and makes Female Genital Cutting a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison for first offenders. Other legislation aimed at improving gender equality include the National Gender-Based Violence Action Plan.

Recommendations

Below is a summary of key strategic recommendations compiled for each sector:

DO 1: Democracy and Governance

• Elections: Continue to support women’s participation in the political system with trainings and internships, including capacity building and support for women in the House and Senate. Expand programs to expose more youth to the processes of governance and the electoral system, focusing on recruiting female beneficiaries and designing activities to meet their specific needs.

• Sensitization & Awareness: Support gender awareness and training programs to educate diverse groups on the importance of women’s rights and political participation at the household, community, local, and national levels. Support sensitization programs to educate communities to eliminate homophobic behavior and bigotry against marginalized groups such as LGBTI populations. Provide training for USAID/Liberia staff on how to work with marginalized groups.

• Sexual & Gender-Based Violence: Improve access to justice for poor people, especially vulnerable women and girls who seek redress for SGBV. Training is needed in the courts and police to streamline and simplify paperwork and procedures for SGBV cases. Support the implementation of the domestic violence and rape laws. While these important pieces of legislation have been passed, their proper implementation requires support to the MGCSP and the Ministry of Justice.

There are also many women’s organizations organized under the umbrella of the Women’s NGO Secretariat, housed within MGCSP and the Women’s Organization of NGOs in Liberia (WONGOSOL). Many of these organizations are focusing on gender inequality and women’s rights but lack sufficient support; USAID should consider partnering with such organizations.

DO 2: Economic Growth

• Vulnerable Employment: Provide technical skills training to decrease levels of vulnerable employment for women and men in the informal sector. Facilitate trainees in acquiring the tools they need to utilize technical skills, provide job placement assistance with employer incentives, and improve access to credit for the informal sector.

• Youth: Support the three-pronged approach for youth as identified in the Liberia Development Conference Anthology:

1. Support the implementation of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Policy in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, including capacity building and technical support to the Ministry.

2. Reinstitute the National Youth Service with a stipend, whether voluntary or compulsory, to provide technical skills, job readiness training, peer-to-peer mentorship, and life skills.

3. Improve the formal education system in terms of access, quality, and capacity, in collaboration with the Education Technical Office.

• Agriculture: Collaborate with Democracy and Governance Technical Office to improve secure land tenure, access to justice, and land ownership for women in agriculture. Support access to markets, training, and credit for women in agriculture.

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 viii

• Sexual & Gender-Based Violence: Considering the unintended consequence of GBV and intimate partner violence in empowerment programs, ensure that activities mitigate these negative consequences by working with male counterparts and male community members to raise awareness of the importance of female empowerment for overall development objectives.

DO 3: Health

• Maternal & Child Health: Prioritize the issue of maternal mortality and the recent requirement to deliver in health facilities and explore ways to better utilize trained birth attendants and midwives.

• Sexual & Reproductive Health: Support expansion of family planning facilities and stocking of commodities, especially the availability of youth-friendly sexual health services for adolescents to decrease unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.

• Sexual & Gender-Based Violence: Provide support to organizations giving assistance to GBV survivors and support One Stop Centers that provide multiple services. Provide SGBV response training to the Ministry of Health, Fixed Amount Reimbursement Agreement (FARA) Teams, and MGCSP, including emergency rape kits in FARA health facilities.

DO 4: Education

• Gender Awareness & Education: Educate students, teachers, school administrations, and communities on the importance of gender equality and girls’ education to improve social gender norms and attitudes toward SGBV in the long term.

• Sexual & Gender-Based Violence: Continue to support programs to eliminate school-related SGBV by engaging teachers, students, parents, and the community in informational campaigns, and act to prosecute teachers who engage in sexual violence toward students.

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 1

I. INTRODUCTION

USAID/Liberia engaged Social Impact, Inc. (SI), through the Liberia Strategic Analysis (LSA) activity, to conduct a Gender Assessment of the Liberian development context from 2009 to 2017. This assessment identifies gender issues across sectors and examines the extent of progress toward and remaining challenges to attaining gender equality.

USAID/Liberia will use findings from the assessment to inform the design of a new Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) in 2018. This Gender Assessment is a required part of the CDCS process, as mandated by USAID’s operational policy, Automated Directives System (ADS) 205. The assessment is intended to identify macro- and sector-level societal gender inequalities or obstacles to female empowerment and how USAID can address these issues through achieving the CDCS Goal, Development Objectives (DOs), and Intermediate Results (see Annex 1: Results Framework). USAID/Liberia’s four DOs include:

• DO 1: Democracy and Governance;

• DO 2: Economic Growth;

• DO 3: Health; and

• DO 4: Education; as well as

• Cross-Cutting Issues: Jobs, Youth, and Nutrition.

Key intended users of the assessment are USAID/Liberia staff, Government of Liberia (GoL) representatives, and USAID’s implementing partners (IPs). Secondary users include other donors and their partners, including national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Background and Purpose

USAID/Liberia commissioned its first Gender Assessment in 2009. The objective of this 2018 Gender Assessment is to update information on the state of gender equality in Liberia since 2009 based on current data and social contexts. As identified in the Scope of Work (see Annex III: Scope of Work), the overall purpose of this Gender Assessment is to:

1. Gather and analyze disaggregated data to accurately reflect the current state of gender relations in Liberia’s rural and urban contexts, including socioeconomic, institutional, and cultural obstacles to gender equality.

2. Gather and analyze relevant social and economic indicators for USAID/Liberia’s four DOs to provide contextual information by sector that will highlight gaps.

3. Assess the USAID/Liberia strategic approach, results framework, programs, and activities to identify gender-related issues and make recommendations on how best to mainstream gender throughout the portfolio, including the identification of gender-related indicators for each DO to monitor and evaluate the contribution of USAID/Liberia in addressing gender inequality.

4. Assess the capacity of USAID/Liberia, NGO partners, and public institutions to address gender inequality through their interventions.

“Gender analysis is a tool for examining the differences between the roles that women and men play in communities and societies, the different levels of power they hold, their differing needs, constraints, and opportunities, and the impact of these differences on their lives.”

USAID’s Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy, 2012

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 2

In addition to updating the 2009 Gender Assessment, this assessment will seek to address any gaps identified for the development of the new CDCS. Toward reaching these goals, this assessment is built around four key questions that guided the design of instruments, analysis tools, overall findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the report.

1. What new or updated data exist on gender in Liberia since the 2009 Gender Assessment?

2. What do the data from 2009 to 2017 tell us about the state of women in Liberia and the effectiveness of donor, government, and civil society interventions in mitigating or addressing gender inequality?

3. What new gender-related policies, plans, or laws have been enacted in Liberia, and have they begun to yield any visible results?

4. What are the relevant gender gaps in the status and anticipated levels of participation of women and men that could hinder overall project outcomes defined in the USAID/Liberia Results Framework?

a. What key gender inequalities or needs for female empowerment could be addressed through USAID Programs?

b. Are there any potential differential effects (including unintended or negative consequences) on women and men?

Finally, after addressing these questions, the assessment will provide recommendations for USAID/Liberia on the kinds of strategy, programs, and partnerships that it should consider in the new CDCS regarding mitigating and addressing gender inequality within Liberia generally and at the CDCS, DO, project, and activity levels.

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 3

II. METHODOLOGY

This Gender Assessment consisted of a systematic review of existing secondary data combined with primary data collection through key informant interviews (KIIs), small group interviews (GIs), and focus group discussions (FGDs). Qualitative data were collected in both urban and rural settings in four counties: Grand Bassa, Nimba, Cape Mount, and Montserrado.

Secondary Data Analysis

The desk review was conducted prior to, during, and after primary data collection. Relevant reports and material documents were identified from multiple sources including USAID and international IPs, GoL, and other international organizations including the United Nations and World Bank, among others. The main objective of the desk review was to form the basis for the analysis of Liberian gender issues framed within Liberia’s current social and political context, including the Ebola virus disease (EVD) crisis of 2014–2015.

The desk review examined documentation of existing activities and projects that provided the background and framework for recent and planned efforts relevant to the strategic planning of the CDCS. In total, more than 75 documents were reviewed. The bibliography of works cited in this assessment is included in Annex

II.

Primary Data Collection

Primary data collection took place during a 10-day period during August and September 2017. KIIs, FGDs, and GIs were organized with the following key respondent groups: USAID staff, IPs, relevant GoL ministries and county officers, UN organizations, civil society organizations (CSOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), and beneficiaries of USAID activities.

Data Collection Tools

For the assessment, a core data collection instrument was designed to identify and seek answers to the key assessment questions with relevant sections targeting different respondents. The tools were tested and vetted by SI’s internal Institutional Review Board to ensure protection of vulnerable respondents in the assessment design. Respondents signed consent forms for the interviews and discussions were taped where relevant. The sex of participants was documented in all categories of data collection for disaggregation. FGD topic guides were also developed to cover women’s groups and associations, women, men, and youth attending community discussions.

Site Selection and Sampling

To capture a range of voices and perspectives within the data collection timeframe, the assessment focused on visiting sites in four target counties. Counties were selected based on the following criteria:

• Those with USAID-funded activities;

• Those without USAID-funded activities;

• Counties with accessible rural communities; and

• Counties that provide a selection of ongoing or recently completed activities across the four DOs.

The final selection of field sites was also based on suggestions received during the in-brief presentation at USAID. USAID recommended that data be collected outside the six focal counties where USAID works in order to gather new perspectives. Thus, data collections was planned for two non-USAID counties and two counties where USAID operates, including Montserrado. However, heavy rains made roads in some areas impassable, so field data was ultimately gathered from respondents in three USAID counties and one non-

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 4

USAID county: Montserrado, Grand Bassa, Nimba, and Grand Cape Mount, respectively. Sampling included both rural and urban perspectives, understanding that challenges are different in each environment, particularly given the greater rural hardships due to lack of public services such as access to clean water, sanitation, healthcare, and electricity. The capital, Monrovia, provided an urban perspective with a large population and residents from a range of socioeconomic strata, from informal settlements to upper middle class. Most activity-related offices, GoL ministries, and UN agencies are based in Monrovia.

FGDs included up to 15 participants and were stratified by sex except in the case of three community groups where both men and women attended the discussion. Sampling was purposive and non-random: FGD participants were identified by IPs, Women’s Organization of NGOs of Liberia (WONGOSOL), and GoL representatives. CSOs and CBOs also cooperated by inviting participants and providing meeting spaces.

There were 178 total respondents, of which 116 were female and 62 male. Interview methods employed were evenly split with a total of 11 KIIs, 11 GIs, and 11 FGDs. Small group interviews, generally of two or three people, occurred when more than one person was present for an interview. Responses were attributed to each participant.

Table 1 below illustrates the number of respondents by category, and Annex V: List of Interviews and Focus Groups provides more detail on primary data sources.

Table 1: Breakdown of KIIs, FGDs, and Small GIs

Data Analysis

Audio recordings of the KIIs and GIs were used to check the accuracy of handwritten notes. FGD audio tapes were transcribed and translated into Standard English summaries that were analyzed manually. The FGD summaries were coded based on the research questions and general themes to organize related ideas and facts for writing.

Limitations

The assessment took place during the rainy season, which limited travel by road and air, restricting data collection in more remote areas. Thus, the majority of interviews and FGDs were held in Monrovia, which influenced the range of voices captured in this assessment. This bias was mitigated to some degree by posing questions to IPs’ field staff and GoL county representatives about operations in counties not visited. In

RESPONDENT

CATEGORY

KIIS GIS FGDS TOTAL

USAID Staff 1 2 3

GoL Ministries & County Offices

1 3 4

UN

Organizations

1 1

Implementing Partners

5 4 9

CSOs & CBOs 3 1 1 5

Beneficiaries 1 10 11

TOTAL 11 11 11

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 5 addition, the period of the data collection occurred during the run-up to the 2017 presidential election, when many officials and women leadership were often unavailable for interviews.

Although this report was conducted in 2017, it relies on data that was, in some instances, outdated. Data used were the most currently available gender indicators, ranging from 2009 to 2017. Certainly, a limitation of this study is the paucity of gender-related research, data, and indicators for Liberia.

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 6

III. FINDINGS BY KEY QUESTION

Assessment Question 1

What new or updated data exist on gender in Liberia since the 2009 Gender Assessment?

The 2009 Gender Assessment focused on key thematic areas relating to the current state of gender inequity in Liberia:

• Health

• Family

• Gender-Based Violence (GBV)

• Human Rights

• Education

• Economic status

• Governance and Politics

• Peacebuilding and Security

That study concluded that the areas of greatest need for Liberian women were in health, education, economic status, institutional participation, and rule of law.

Cross-Cutting Reports

In 2014, Liberia was included for the first time in World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report (GGGR), which provides global rankings for political empowerment, literacy, income and wage equality, education, workforce participation, and life expectancy, as compared to some 140 other countries around the world. The GGGR ranked Liberia “above average on the Economic Participation and Opportunity, and Health and Survival sub-indexes, and below average in Educational Attainment and Political Empowerment.”1 The report provides comparative rankings of Liberian gender equity in the labor market and education and health systems. These rankings are detailed in Table 2 below:

Table 2: Female Parity Ratios and Rankings in the WEF GGGR 2014

SECTOR INDICATOR RANKING GENDER

PARITY

RATIO

Economic Growth

Labor Force Participation 22 .92

Ministerial Positions 52 .27

Legislators, Senior Officials, and Management 94 .27

Professionals and Technical Workers 106 .54

Parliamentary Workers 112 .12

Education Literacy Rate 140 .44

Primary Education Enrollment 125 .95

Tertiary Education Enrollment 121 .63

Health Healthy Life Expectancy 123 1.02

1 GGGR 2014, p. 30

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 7

While tremendous strides have been made to promote female participation in the educational system, Liberia still trails most of the world in ensuring girls’ education. In 2014, Liberia was ranked 112 out of 145 countries around the world for overall gender parity.2 By 2017, Liberia had moved up to 107 out of 144 countries, which suggests slow and steady progress toward achieving greater gender parity. These topics are discussed further below.

DO 1: Democracy and Governance

Between 2009 and 2017, Liberia underwent a series of political and social changes that affected the well-being of the population, involving several pieces of key legislature. The GoL aimed to reach 30 percent female staff and came close to this goal with approximately 28 percent of ministerial-level positions filled by women in 2012.3 However, only about 12 percent of Liberia’s national parliament seats were filled by women in 2017.4 Beyond ministerial-level positions, the percentage of female employees is much lower than the 30 percent target.

Women’s active political participation rates have dropped in recent years. A USAID Liberia Electoral Access and Participation (LEAP) survey on the gender gap in voting found that women are less likely to be registered to vote than men, and about 5 percent fewer women turned out to vote in the 2014 Senate Elections than in the 2011 Presidential Election. However, the 2014 elections did take place during the EVD outbreak, so voter turnout was lower overall.5 Final figures for the female turnout in the 2017 Presidential Election were difficult to attain; however, 48 percent of registered voters were women6.

Two shadow reports were created by separate large NGO consortiums, both submitted to the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW) in October 2015, one from Liberia's Initiative for the Promotion of Rights, Identity, Diversity and Equality (LIPRIDE) and one from WONGOSOL. Neither report provided new statistics or findings, but they identified specific policy and legal recommendations for CEDAW regarding the status of women in Liberia. While each organization was focused on its areas of interest (LIPRIDE on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex [LGBTI] issues and WONGOSOL on the status of women and children), there were several corresponding recommendations, including:

• GoL develop a comprehensive strategy to deal with the impact of the EVD crisis and prepare for its possible return in the future;

• Increase the budget of the MGCSP;

• GoL declare a full ban on Female Genital Cutting (FGC) and Sande societies and embark on an information sharing campaign to educate the public about this issue;

• GoL fully implement the Domestic Violence Act; and

• Enhance capacity for Liberian women, especially rural women, to access their rights.

The WONGOSOL report also presented existing data from UNMIL and the 2013 Health and Demographic survey, including the following data on the prevalence of GBV in Liberia:

2 GGGR 2014, p. 30.

3 GEMS Gender Analysis, p. 7.

4 World Bank data, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SG.GEN.PARL.ZS.

5 LEAP Survey Report on Women’s Political Participation and the Gender Gap, p. 5.

6 UNDP 2017

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SG.GEN.PARL.ZS

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 8

Two USAID publications specifically addressed gender in politics after 2009, both producing new information and guidance. Primary data was collected during a population-based national LEAP survey, which highlighted the gender gap in voter registration and voting in the 2014 Senate Elections. It reports:

DO 2: Economic Growth

The 2014–15 EVD crisis had a significant impact on Liberia’s economy, which was still in the process of recovering from the protracted civil war at the onset of the crisis. According to a July 2015 report from Oxfam, unemployment rates rose from around 20 percent before the EVD crisis to above 50 percent at the height of the crisis. Women’s livelihoods, although more vulnerable, were also more resilient: “women (15.9 percent) have slightly overtaken men (14.2 percent) in Income Generating Activity (IGA) participation.”7

Although the EVD crisis did change Liberia’s economic landscape to the point where many data points collected prior to the outbreak are no longer relevant, documents that remain relevant are profiled in this section.

The International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Report on the Liberia Labour Force Survey 2010 provides a wealth of primary data from more than 6,000 households across all 15 counties. This survey reports that 50.6 percent of men and 46.5 percent of women participate in the labor force, with slightly more workers in rural than urban areas (of both genders).8 Figure 1 below illustrates the labor force disaggregated by gender and education level.

Figure 1: Labor Force Participation Disaggregated by Gender and Education Level

This figure illustrates how unbalanced the female labor market is, as a legacy of Liberia’s historically low female enrollment rates in school. Additional analysis of the gender dynamics of Liberia’s labor force can be

7 Oxfam and UN Women. 2015. Ebola Impact Revealed.

8 ILO Labour Force Survey 2010, p. 24.

“Montserrado County accounts for 61% of all reported rape cases, 88% of survivors/victims being below 18, and 13% younger than 10. Cases of GBV recorded by the MGCSP include 682 rape cases;

407 physical assaults and domestic violence. . . . Additionally, 110 cases were received by the Sex Crimes Unit in 2014.”

WONGOSOL Shadow Report to CEDAW, p. 17

“Women not only are less likely to be registered than men, and when registered, are less likely to vote.

This means that there is a double-edged gender gap . . . Moreover, the gender gap in voting appears to have increased by about five percentage points in 2014 compared to reported turnout by LEAP respondents in the 2011 Presidential election. In 2011 the gender gap in voting was about 9 percentage points; but, in 2014 the gap in voting is just over 14 percentage points.”

LEAP Report on Women’s Political Participation, p. 5

28.4

32.5

34.9

4.2 Males

No schooling

Primary school

Secondary school Degree

54.3 27.9

16.7 1.1

Females

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 9 found in this report’s Economic Growth section under Assessment Question 2.

Two other documents provided information on women in the agricultural market. The World Bank and Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) released a 2010 Policy Memorandum on women’s roles in agricultural value chains to provide policy guidance on gender mainstreaming, referencing existing policy and research documents. The primary conclusions were that women dominate food crop agriculture (producing more than 60 percent), whereas men dominate cash crop agriculture, producing nearly two-thirds more than their female counterparts.

Feed the Future’s Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) Baseline report provides a comprehensive look at key primary quantitative data on women in agriculture. The WEIA measures women’s empowerment based on the Gender Parity Index (GPI) and the Five Domains of Empowerment sub-index (5DE) to determine the percentage of women who are empowered and, among those who are not, the percentage of domains in which women enjoy adequate achievements. The WEAI is a key index that was not used in Liberia prior to this study and could be used as a tool for both program design and monitoring and evaluation. A more detailed analysis of the WEAI will be discussed below under Research Question 2.

This assessment relies on several sources of secondary data on unemployment; these vary somewhat due to differing methodologies. For example, the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) definition of unemployment included women who were not in the labor force. Since women’s labor force participation rates might range from 15 to 70 percent, the “unemployment rates” would be proportionately lower.

For a discussion of employment and labor market issues related to the youth cohort, see the cross-cutting issues section on youth below.

DO 3: Health

The EVD epidemic of 2014–15 inspired the gender-focused assessment, Ebola Impact Revealed, published by Oxfam and UN Women in July 2015, exploring the post-EVD impact on men and women in terms of behavioral change, national disease response, and gender-disaggregated EVD morbidity and mortality rates.

As this report was produced during the final six months of the EVD crisis, the reported impact of the outbreak is limited in scope. However, the data do identify health-related information on women’s issues including:

• More men (53%) than women (47%) contracted EVD, and more men died (55%) than women (45%).

However, there was a common perception that women were more vulnerable to contracting the disease because of their position as the primary caregiver in most households.

• Older women are the most likely caregivers in a family unit and thus should be targeted for training on “patient care with an emphasis on the prevention and control of infection.”9

• Women are key players in community mobilization efforts. USAID activities should understand and utilize them as an asset: “Initiatives need to ensure that the leadership role and agency of women are visible, and the full participation of women should be promoted at all levels of community engagement.”10

SGBV and Human Rights

Several documents have been produced since 2009, including research reports from government and international bodies, evaluations, and independent research, some of which provide new primary data for

9 Ebola Impact Revealed, p. 12.

10 Ibid, p. 39.

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 10 review or analysis from interviews or questionnaires.

Case management and conviction of SGBV has proven to be a specific area of interest since 2009. Within the GoL, the SGBV Crimes Unit was originally designed as an 18-month strategic grant (from 2009 to 2011) to prosecute perpetrators of SGBV more effectively. In 2016, the United Nations Human Rights Commission produced a document looking specifically at rape in Liberia and identified the underlying challenges in holding perpetrators accountable within the formal justice system, as the magnitude and prevalence of the crime and the high levels of impunity become more evident.

The United Nations Gender-based Violence Joint Program ended in 2014 and produced a document to capture existing strategies, initiatives, and key interventions being implemented, including responsible bodies involved in coordination in Exploring GBV Prevention in Liberia. This document not only reviewed health, legal, social protection, and prevention strategies, but also includes some secondary data points not previously discussed, including “an increase in the rape of children between 0-12 years from 44% in 2012 to 52.7% in 2013” (see Figure 2 below). Another statistic illustrates the dynamic range of rape cases reported to various service providers, including courts, police, and health. In 2013, for females below the age of 18, 33 rape cases were addressed in the court system, compared to 747 cases managed by health professionals, demonstrating how few rape cases came to trial in Liberia.

Figure 2: Age ranges of Rape Victims, 201311

DO 4: Education

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 2012 Global Initiative on Out-of-School Children data set reported that 60 percent of Liberia’s primary school aged children are not attending either primary or secondary schools.12 In addition, it reported a 75 percent youth literacy rate, which differs considerably from the 64 percent male and 37 percent female youth (15-24 years) literacy rate reported in the 2010 World Data on Education database, and a 21 percent child labor rate, although data are not disaggregated by gender.

The 2017 Gender Assessment in Registered Midwife and Medical Laboratory Technician Pre-Service Programs in Liberia report provided new insights into teacher training and accommodation for gender issues within the classroom, school security, teacher-student sexual relationships, academic performance inequities, and retention concerns for female and male students. While this report is cross-cutting with health, it is included

11 UNGBVJP Exploring Gender-based Violence Prevention, p. 6. NB: 26 and above is not depicted because it represents 0.1%.

12 UNICEF Global Initiative on OOS Children, p. 4.

14.5%

38.2%

43.2%

4%

0–5

6–12

13–17

18–25

26 and above

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 11 in the education section of this study because the information presented is more focused on the educational system. Overall, the report found that students of midwifery and medical technician pre-service training programs faced gender-related challenges on several levels, including:

• Teachers are not trained to integrate gender considerations into their classrooms.

• Teachers have biased perceptions about female students’ abilities, considering female students to be academically weaker than their male counterparts, despite clear evidence that performance of female students was equal to that of male students.

• Among male students and teachers, there was a perception that female students are more interested in, and occupied by, domestic duties than their studies.

The 2017 USAID Accelerated Quality Education (AQE) for Liberian Children Gender Analysis report identified gender-related challenges for students with disabilities and out of school youth. This report listed the youth literacy rate at 69 percent for females 15–19 years of age, 33 percent for all females (regardless of age), and 62 percent for all males. It stated that “one third of youth are not enrolled in school, training or employment.”13 Finally, it reported that “more than 90% of children were too old for their grade level . . .

63% of boys of primary school age are out of school . . . [and] 67% of girls of the same age. Nearly 29% of female youth of secondary school age are out of school compared to 21% of male youth.”14

One of the primary gender-related issues within the Liberian educational system is transactional sex, or sex for grades. A 2013 USAID report for the Excellence in Higher Education for Liberian Development (EHELD) activity, Examining Barriers and Persistence Factors for Female Students in the Engineering and Agriculture Degree programs at the University of Liberia and Cuttington University, conducted an anonymous survey with 158 female university students to explore gender issues. Findings from this survey are detailed in Table 3 below:

Table 3: EHELD Students’ Experiences with SGBV, Disaggregated by University

QUESTION % CUTTINGTON

UNIVERSITY

RESPONDENTS

(N=92)

% UNIVERSITY OF

LIBERIA

RESPONDENTS

(N=66)

Since coming to the university, has a male faculty ever…

Sexual violation (peeped you, exposed himself, unwanted touching of breasts, butt)

10.8 6.1

Transactional sex (sex for: grades, money or help, or school supplies)

23.9 13.6

Sexual coercion (forced intimacy or threats)

13.0 4.5

Since coming to the university, has a male student ever…

13 AQE Gender Analysis, p. 10.

14 Ibid.

USAID/Liberia Gender Assessment 2018 12

Sexual violation (peeped you, exposed himself, unwanted touching of breasts, butt)

45.7 36.3

Transactional sex (sex for: money or help, school supplies, uniforms, or food)

26.1 13.6

Sexual coercion (forced intimacy or threats)

26.1 4.5

This survey reveals the alarmingly high level of SGBV that female students face at the tertiary level. However, these findings are also indicative of what transpires at all levels of the Liberian education system, which confirms another finding that will be discussed later in this assessment, that SGBV has a negative impact on female education and retention of girls in school.

Cross-cutting Issues

Youth

The 2009 USAID/Liberia Youth Fragility Assessment…