E CHECKLIST CHECKLIST FOR THE PREPARATION PHASE ;; Ensure gender balance and gender expertise in the selection of the members of the team, including, when relevant, Commissioners/Experts and Human Rights Officers performing investigative functions, legal analysis and reporting. Make certain that Gender Advisers join the investigation from the outset. ;; Map the differentiated human rights situation of women and girls, men and boys in the country and develop an overview of the legal, economic, political, cultural and social challenges. Pay attention to intersecting forms of discrimination based on ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, class and other status. Map the relevant actors/ perpetrators and their roles, power/influence, needs and interests. Identify protection gaps and any risks or barriers to reporting specific violations, which can be different for women, men, children or LGBTI persons. ;; When developing a methodology, account for possible obstacles that might surface when investigating violations of women’s human rights or violations against LGBTI persons and their gendered impacts and discuss within the team possible strategies to overcome these. ;; Ensure that gender is integrated into the investigation plan and field missions. Depending on the circumstances, a separate investigation plan for gender integration can be developed. Identify the key gender-related issues to be investigated and the methodology for gathering such information. ;; Identify potential sources of information, such as victims or witnesses, human rights activists, and civil society groups and networks working with women and on women’s human rights, LGBTI and/or gender issues, as well as national human rights institutions, field workers and service providers, community leaders and authorities, who could provide relevant information with a gender-sensitive approach. Identify potential intermediaries who could assist in the identification of victims, witnesses and sources. Establish contact at an early stage in order to enable them to organize and assist in the most efficient manner possible. ;; Include a gender analysis in the prioritization exercise and identify gender integration priorities for the investigation. Inputs from local women’s human rights groups and other relevant partners can also be valuable in terms of identifying priorities. ;; Prepare briefing notes with the objective of assisting all members of the team to successfully integrate gender throughout the investigation, highlighting possible issues to be investigated. Parts of the briefing notes and the background material mentioned above could be used in the report at a later stage. ;; Ensure that a training session on gender-sensitive investigation is provided to all staff members, including on identification and documentation of the gendered impact of human rights violations, on conducting interviews with victims and survivors of GBV, the use of referral pathways and gender integration in reporting. 23