The document outlines an intersectional approach to analyzing gender and indigenous people's rights in South America, emphasizing the need to understand how multiple forms of discrimination impact both genders differently. Oxfam America is committed to empowering both indigenous men and women, particularly focusing on the specific challenges faced by indigenous women amidst systemic inequalities. The aim is to develop contextual analyses and program strategies that better address these intersecting issues in countries like Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador.

1. Terms of Reference
Indigenous People and Gender Justice
Context Analysis
“The idea of intersectionality seeks to capture both the structural and the
dynamic consequences of the interaction between two or more forms of
discrimination or systems of subordination. It specifically addresses the
manner in which racism, patriarchy, economic disadvantages and other
discriminatory systems contribute to create layers of inequality that structures
the relative positions of women and men, races and other groups. Moreover,
it addresses the way that specific acts and policies create burdens that flow
along these intersecting axes contributing actively to create a dynamic of
disempowerment”
Pragna Patel, Notes on Gender and racial discrimination: An Urgent Need
to Integrate and Intersectional Perspective to the Examination and
Development of Policies, Strategies and Remedies for Gender and Racial
Equality, Background Paper, Commission on the Status of Women, forty-
fifth session, (March, 2001).
Introduction
As a result of our gender process in the South America Region Office,
including the ICRW gender assessment of the Indigenous People’s Rights
Program, the South America Regional Office (SAMRO) has determined the
need to carry out a thorough contextual analysis that would help SAMRO
develop an intersectional framework for gender and indigenous people’s
rights to serve the development of its programmatic strategies and actions.
SAMRO aims to apply this intersectional approach in order to identify and
address the effects of intersectional forms of discrimination, especially on
women (as opposed to addressing forms of discrimination in isolation of
each other). This approach will help SAMRO to determine specific goals
and outcomes that are better aimed at addressing specific indigenous
peoples and their rights in each of our programs. It will help us build up a
common position on these issues and improve our work on gender justice in
the region.
Background
Oxfam America
Oxfam America (OA) is a private, non-governmental organization dedicated to
finding lasting solutions to global poverty and social injustice.

2. Poverty can be described as a state in which people experience multi-dimensional
exclusion from active participation in the public arena and its diverse institutions,
and the (absolute or relative) deprivation from access to and control over resources
and public services.
A development process is always concerned with changes in existing relations and
situations and therefore implicitly or explicitly with changes in power relations. In
order to assure an end to hunger and poverty, our development efforts must focus
on how whole communities of both women and men can be empowered to find
their own solutions. Oxfam America is committed to a vision of the world in which
women and men can participate fully in their own development, are recognized for
their contributions, and share equally in the benefits.
Oxfam America is cognizant of the multiple layers of discrimination that combine to
heighten the vulnerability of women and their experiences of injustice. The South
America Regional Office (SAMRO) seeks, through this Terms of Reference, to use
an intersectional approach (specifically here around gender and indigenous
people’s rights) as an analytical tool that helps provide both a conceptual
understanding as well as a framework for action.
An intersectional approach to gender and indigenous people’s rights is needed to
understand how multiple systems of discrimination impact on men and women
differently. We seek to use an intersectional approach to help us understand:
Compounded discrimination (combined gender and minority/marginalized
group status preventing women from accessing opportunities and
resources) and how are related to structural discrimination (particular state
policies and structural dynamics that increase marginalization of women
based on gender, race, poverty status, etc).
This TOR also seeks to understand how gender interacts with ethnicity to make
women in Peru face disproportionate levels of discrimination and injustice. This will
allow us to develop program strategies and actions in response to particular kinds
of discrimination as experienced within a particular context.
Oxfam America, Indigenous People and Gender
Working with indigenous peoples as our primary change subject needs a very
thorough approach to gender justice. Working with indigenous peoples means
working with the neediest population in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. A gender justice
approach may help us make a deeper analysis and take things forward.. SAMRO
is promoting work that empowers indigenous peoples, but we still need to go all the
way and reach those that are vulnerable within this population.
Trying to address indigenous peoples and gender is not an easy task because
there are issues that we have to put into consideration, such as an individual and
collective rights approach, and also ways of addressing gender in different cultural
contexts, etc.

3. Indigenous women and gender
“Indigenous women stand at the intersection of gender and racial inequality…
Greater autonomy for indigenous communities does not necessarily result in
ensuring the rights of indigenous women…Failure to recognize the intersectional
nature of systems of oppression and integrate a racial and gender perspective
when analyzing indigenous women’s status will ultimately result in further reinforcing
their subordination to both patriarchy and racism.”1
Since the 80’s the demands of indigenous women have intensified, and they
became aware of their position of disadvantage. They have being wining broader
spaces as the El Cairo Conference in 1994 which includes a specific chapter about
Indigenous Peoples. Ten years after the Beijing Conference we find that the
Indigenous Women International Forum is stronger and helped them moving their
own rights forward. But unfortunately there are vulnerabilities and barriers that
keep women from achieving their rights. All this different forums, conferences and
spaces have been useful to make recommendations towards overcoming poverty,
education, health, and environmental issues, among others.
Indigenous peoples rights, culture and policy
Indigenous Women are immersed in the context of their own culture and
communities. Their peoples are pushing forward rights such as access to territory,
free prior informed consent, among others. Within this process, women are building
up their own agenda so they can address their own needs.
Recent recommendations from the Special Rapporteur on the human rights and
fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples (OACNUDH), Children’s rights
committee and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women (UNIFEM ) have being shared in the “¿Qué está pasando con los
derechos de los pueblos indígenas?” report of Bolivia, Perú and Ecuador
Peru has advances with some laws like “The Law of equal opportunities”:
indigenous women are being taken into consideration but indigenous women
organizations in Peru are not involved in the process.
They start from the collective feeling that it belongs to the peoples’ rights (land,
culture, economic and social evelopment), including rights to gender equity
(equitable access to health, education, income, MOI to the decision to advocate for
policies that affect their lives).
Within indigenous peoples there are groups that are highly vulnerable and are
behind in achieving their social, economic and cultural rights. There is no
recognition of their right over their own lands, they don’t have the opportunity to
1

4. decide about the use of resources, and don’t have enough access to essential
services like health, education, and they suffer social exclusion and discrimination.
RESEARCH OUTLINE
Research Objectives
Build up a context analysis about indigenous people’s rights with a gender justice
focus in Peru.
The Gender Justice Change Goal identifies the need to work externally (external change goals) as
well as internally (internal change goals) with the aim of challenging and changing existing:
• Social attitudes, beliefs, and norms based on the belief that women are of lesser value.
• Policies, practices and institutional structures which reinforce and sustain unequal power
relations and unequal access to and control over resources.
Suggested Objectives:
To carry out a thorough contextual analysis that would help SAMRO develop an
intersectional framework for gender and indigenous people’s rights to serve the
development of its program strategies and actions
• Carry out contextual analysis and work with SAMRO staff on developing the
framework for gender and indigenous people’s rights.
• Inform our PSPs, giving an approach to gender from an Indigenous People
scope
• Based on the analysis and proposed framework, to develop a set of
strategies and actions that inform SAMRO’s current and future programs
Research topics and questions
• Indigenous organizations and women organizations can work together?
Approach and Agenda´s differences. Women role in indigenous
organizations.
• Natural resources access like water, land and sustainable development.
• Extractive Industries impact on indigenous people communities.
• Relations between state and indigenous people like access to justice,
identity rights, mechanisms like Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC),
169th Convention, community justice.
• State policies focused on health and education for indigenous people.
Guiding topics around which to ask our core questions: 2
2
a Sueiro
Gender and Policy Officer
South America Regional Office
Oxfam America

5. 1) Targeted forms of discrimination (exclusively against women within a
particular indigenous group);
2) Compounded discrimination (combined gender and minority/marginalized
group status preventing women from accessing opportunities and
resources);
3) Structural discrimination (particular state policies and structural
dimensions that increase marginalization of women based on gender, race,
poverty status, etc).
Outputs
1. Thorough contextual analysis;
2. Staff training on conducting context analysis;
3. Intersectional framework for gender and indigenous people’s rights to serve
the development of SAMRO program strategies and actions
4. Recommendations on key strategies and actions for engaging with
particular indigenous groups and addressing specific policies and structural
dynamics that reinforce these different forms of marginalization.
5. Inputs to acute our PSPs strategies.
Av. Benavides 1130
Miraflores, Lima 18, Perú
Telefax 51 (1) 7009200
aalayza@oxfamamerica.org

6. Which work lines and/or areas we have to address in order to make indigenous
peoples’ rights be recognized, especially those of indigenous women?
Other topics relevant for our work on this issue will be mentioned in the literature
review section.
Theoretical Orientation
OI Gender Justice Framework
OI has a Gender Justice Change Goal that should be the guide to better address
other change goals such as economic justice, rights in crisis and essential
services.
Gender Justice Change Goal gives us a focused perspective on the definition and
application of civil, political, economic and social rights. This specific gender
approach can help us build up an understanding on the areas that we have to
address and the challenges we have to pursuit. We have to take into consideration
the fact that gender equality and women’s rights are goals in themselves and not
only an instrumental way of achieving other development goals.
Gender Justice brings work towards gender equity and gender equality into a rights
based framework, it implies access to and control over resources, combined with
agency (the ability to make choices), and a process that includes accountability,
responsibility and answerability of institutions set up to dispense justice.
Research Design
Focus on processes related to indigenous peoples and gender justice in Peru.
Consultants Proposal
Research Methodology
Consultant proposal
Take into consideration work produced in SAMRO as well as our coworkers
experience and points of view.
Narrow and define research topics and core questions in coordination with staff
involved. Raise context specific questions related to programs topics.
Cover, not only our work at the grassroots level, but also our policy approach to
indigenous peoples.
Data Collection
Budget
Oxfam America will pay a competitive consultancy fee to conduct this analysis.
Include consultants’ fee, travel expenses and other in requested proposal.

7. OUTPUTS Date
1. Literature Review and work plan. Research October 2009
questions definition.
2. Research design October 2009
3. Staff and Consultants Meeting November 2009
4. First Draft Report December 2009
5 Staff and Consultants Meeting January 2010
6 Final Draft Report February 2010
7 Workshop: Bringing in our findings to our February 2010
PSPs / Nurturing our PSPs
Terms of Payment
The first installment of 30% of the total sum will be payable at contract signature.
The second installment of (40%) of the total sum will be payable on submission of the first
draft.
The second installment of (30%) of the total sum will be payable when the consultant’s
final report has been submitted and when the commissioning manager has
a) Approved that the report has been satisfactorily completed
b) Confirmed that full research documentation (as described below) has also been
provided.
Documentation of research
In order to use the Consultant’s research findings in Oxfam International publications and
campaigns, Oxfam America must be provided with full information and documentation to
substantiate those findings.
• The consultant’s final report(s) must provide endnote references for all specific facts
and statistics used. The report(s) must also include a bibliography of all references
mentioned.
• Primary sources must be used wherever possible over secondary sources (for
example, the Consultant should provide documentary evidence of a fact or statistic as
written in its original report, not as cited by a newspaper)
• If internet sources have been used, a printed out page from the website showing the
cited facts and statistics must be submitted. The consultant must ensure that the date
on which it was printed out is written on the page.
If Oxfam discovers any discrepancies with the figures or facts, the consultant will work with
Oxfam to resolve the discrepancies.
Professional expectations
• Two or more consultants with expertise in gender and indigenous people

8. • Consultants’ proficiency in English desirable
• Consultants will write the report with the style guide provided by Oxfam America.
• Consultants will work with Oxfam to determine the appropriate research methods and
exchange learning.
• Consultants must make assumptions in research design explicit.
• Work must undergo a review process that includes internal Oxfam review and external
peer review.
• Work is subject to progress or development review and project can be terminated by
Oxfam, if the project is not progressing in line with the terms of reference. For
example, the submission of a outline or storyboard in the beginning of the project and a
draft report at a subsequent point are checkpoints to asses the project of the research.
• Consultant is expected to make deadlines outlined above, unless the consultant
negotiates alternative deadlines with Oxfam, in which case Oxfam will revise the ToR
to express the new deadlines.
Desired Qualifications
• Proven knowledge of various social research methodologies (including qualitative,
quantitative and participatory methods);
• Demonstrable experience with gender analysis, and more generally social relations
research in rural development and with analysis of institutional dynamics at local,
community and national levels;
• Experience in the region particularly Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia is an asset;
• Ability to travel to the three countries as required
Contact
Adelaida Alayza Sueiro
Gender and Policy Officer
South America Regional Office
Oxfam America
Av. Benavides 1130
Miraflores, Lima 18, Perú
Telefax 51 (1) 7009200
aalayza@oxfamamerica.org