International Consultant on developing guidelines for Ukrainian police on emergency barring orders against perpetrators of gender-based violence

Consultant

Contract

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Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls, the empowerment of women and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. UN Women work in Ukraine focuses on supporting the government and civil society in advancing gender equality and implementation of the national gender equality policies and international commitments on gender equality and the empowerment of women, including Sustainable Development Goals, Beijing Platform for Actions, Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and its Optional Protocol, UN Security Council Resolutions on Women, Peace and Security and others.

To support the government in the restoration of governance and reconciliation in crisis-affected communities of eastern Ukraine UN Women together with UNDP, FAO and UNFPA is being implementing a joint programme (JP) “EU Support to the East of Ukraine – Recovery, Peacebuilding and Governance”, funded by the European Union. JP aims to contribute to peace, economic revitalization and reconciliation in Eastern Ukraine through social and economic recovery, with special focus on Government Controlled Areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The primary objectives of the programme are: 1) To enhance local capacity for gender-responsive decentralization and administrative reforms to improve governance, local development and the delivery of services; 2) To stimulate employment and economic growth by providing assistance to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) development through demand-driven business development services and professional skills training; 3) To enhance social cohesion and reconciliation through promotion of civic initiatives; 4) To support sector reforms and structural adjustments in health, education and critical public infrastructure to mitigate direct impacts of the conflict. UN Women is responsible for overall coordination and providing technical assistance to mainstream gender equality into all components of the Joint Programmes.

Domestic violence is one of the most pervasive forms of gender-based violence. According to the 2019 OSCE-led Survey on Violence against Women in Ukraine two-thirds (67%) of surveyed women stated that they have experienced psychological, physical or sexual violence at the hands of a partner or non-partner since the age of 15 and nearly three in ten women (28%) who have had a previous partner say they have experienced physical and/or sexual violence at the hands of a previous partner compared to 15% of women who currently have a partner who say they have experienced current partner physical and/or sexual violence.[1]

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent mobility restriction measures in Ukraine have led to an increase of domestic violence cases against women, including against children and older people[2]. Such factors as stress caused by social isolation, additional domestic and care work, increased intake of alcohol and unmet socio-economic needs directly contributed to the escalation of domestic violence. At the same time, disrupted public services due to unavailability of public transportation or changed modus operandi of public service providers hamper the access to justice and social services of domestic violence survivors. Rare use of restraining orders against domestic violence perpetrators, as well as the limited number of shelters for survivors of domestic violence in Ukraine are leaving survivors without protection and prone to continuous risk of violence. [3]

The due diligence principle stemming from the international human rights law, explicitly expressed in the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), ratified by Ukraine in 1981[4], requires the State parties to take specific measures to protect women from violence, to prosecute acts of violence, and to prevent further acts of violence. The failure of the State to apply the due diligence principle to prevent, investigate and, punish the acts of violence against women represents a violation of its international obligations. Safety of the victim[5] and the accountability of the perpetrator of gender-based violence are at the core of an effective response of the State to violence against women. Comprehensive protection measures should be in place to provide safety and dignity for victims. The victim’s safety should be central to any decision taken by the court in a gender-based violence case.

Emergency barring orders and court issued protection orders against gender-based violence perpetrators are most often used in cases of domestic violence to ensure a physical distance between the victim and the perpetrator as an effective measure to stop violence and its escalation or avoid it’s occurrence, and ensure victim’s safety. The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence obliges the State parties to ensure protection of victims by using inter alia the emergency barring orders (art. 52) in situations of immediate danger, ordering the perpetrator to vacate the residence of the victim for a sufficient period of time and prohibiting the perpetrator from entering the residence of or contacting the victim, specifically indicating that measures taken pursuant to this article shall give priority to the safety of victims. The Explanatory Report to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence[6] explains that the term “immediate danger” refers to any situations of domestic violence in which harm is imminent or has already materialized and is likely to happen again.

In an effort to align the Ukrainian gender-based violence legislation to international standards in this field in January 2019 the amendments of gender-based violence legislation came into effect. Specifically, qualifying as a domestic violence crime in art. 126-1 the conduct characterized by an intentional systematic physical, economic and psychological violence committed against a current or former partner or family member, which leads to physical or psychological suffering, health disorders, loss of health, emotional dependence or impairment of the quality of life of the victim. At the same time, art. 173-2 of the Administrative Code of Ukraine provides that an offence of domestic and gender-based violence represents any intentional act or omission of a physical, psychological or economic nature (use of violence that did not cause bodily harm, threats, insult or harassment, deprivation of housing, food, clothing, other property or funds to which the victim is entitled by law, etc.) as a result of which the victim's physical or mental health may have been harmed, as well as failure of the perpetrator to comply with an urgent restraining order or failure to notify the authorized units of the National Police of Ukraine about his/her change of place of temporary residence of the person.

Replacing the 2001 Law on Prevention of domestic violence, in 2017 the Ukrainian Government adopted the Law on Prevention and Combating Domestic Violence. [7][8] The new law declares a zero tolerance to domestic violence, recognizing its social danger, and introduces the emergency barring orders issued by police and the longer term protection orders issued by courts to ensure an effective protection of victims of domestic violence. According to art. 25 of the Law on Prevention and Combating Domestic Violence an emergency barring order represents a special measure to combat domestic violence, which is issued against the perpetrator by the authorized units of the National Police of Ukraine when there is an immediate danger to the life or health of the victim in order to immediately stop the domestic violence, prevent its continuation or repetition. The following measures can be imposed by an emergency barring order:

- Obligation to leave the house/place of stay of the victim

- Prohibition to enter and stay in the house/place of stay of the victim

- Prohibition of any contacts with the victim

The law states that a decision to impose an urgent restraining order shall be made based upon consideration that safety of the victim is a priority. This requirement also applies to the place of co-habitation of the victim and the perpetrator regardless of their property rights to the relevant premise.

An urgent barring order is issued based on the results of a risk assessment conducted by the specialized units of the National Police at the initiative of the victim or at the initiative of the law enforcement officer. If an immediate danger to the life or health of the victim is detected the law enforcement officer issues an emergency barring order. The emergency barring orders shall be effective for a period of up to 10 days.

Various capacity assessments revealed that law enforcement officers in Ukraine still encounter difficulties in conducting risk assessments aimed at issuing the emergency barring orders, determining the victim and the perpetrator in a gender-based violence case, ensure that the emergency barring order is considering the safety of a child witness to the gender-based violence case, impose the protection measures that would effectively protect the victim, as well as ensure the implementation or supervision of the emergency barring order by the perpetrator. In the absence of a clear algorithm of actions to be followed by police to ensure the protection of the victim by the means of an emergency barring order the practice in Ukraine is not uniform and shows that often police officers fail to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment and ensure that the appropriate protection measures have been imposed through the emergency barring order. Additionally, once the emergency barring order is issued there is no approved mechanism on ensuring the supervision of implementation of such an order.

Against this background, UN Women is seeking to contract an international consultant to develop Guidelines for Ukrainian police on emergency barring orders against perpetrators of gender-based violence in line with Ukrainian legislative and policy frameworks on gender-based violence, including domestic violence, and international standards in this field. The international consultant will be supported by a national consultant contracted by UN Women’s partner CSO “Ukrainian Foundation for Public Health”.

[1] Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), OSCE-led Survey on Violence against Women: Ukraine Results Report, 2019

[2] Data received from Social Affairs Departments of Donetsk and Luhansk regions: Luhansk region: 1069 in the 1st Quarter 2020 compared to 1st Q 2019 - 748 appeals. Out of 1069 cases in the 1st Quarter 2020 appeals came from: children - 21; women – 828; men – 215. Donetsk region: 1970 in the 1st Quarter 2020 compared to 1st Q 2019 – 1196 appeals. Out of 1970 cases in the 1st Quarter 2020 appeals came from: 8 – children; 1758 – women; 204 – men

[3] UN Women Ukraine, Assessment of domestic violence service providers responsiveness and risks faced by survivors of domestic violence and women at risk during COVID-19 pandemic confinement measures in Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, 26 March – 2 April 2020

[4] CEDAW ratification by Ukraine https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?CountryID=183&Lang=EN

[5] The term “victim” is used in lieu of “survivor” because it shows the procedural legal standing of the person who suffers from gender-based violence. The Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence also uses the term “victim”, since it specifically refers to gender-based violence crimes.

[6] Council of Europe, Explanatory Report to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence

against women and domestic violence, 2011 https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=090000168008482e

[7] Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Violence in families" https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2229-19#Text

[8] Law of Ukraine "On Prevention and Counteraction to Domestic Violence" https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2789-14#Text

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UN Women Ukraine Representative, and direct supervision by UN Women Programme Specialist, the International Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

• Conduct a desk review of gender-based violence, including domestic violence legislation, subsequent regulations, guidelines, relevant studies and assessments pertaining to the mandate of the National Police of Ukraine in protecting the victims of gender-based violence, including of domestic violence, as well as of international standards in this field.
• With guidance from UN Women and Ministry of Internal Affairs and National Police develop comprehensive Guidelines for Ukrainian police on emergency barring orders against perpetrators of gender-based violence in line with the Ukrainian legislative and policy frameworks, and international standards in this field, and provide recommendations for amending the relevant existing regulations/instructions used by police when issuing gender-based/domestic violence emergency barring orders.

Assignment Deliverables:

Deliverable

Foreseen number of working days per consultant

1.

Desk review of the Ukrainian legislative, policy and regulatory frameworks on gender-based violence, including domestic violence, relevant studies, research and assessments pertaining to the implementation of emergency barring orders by the police conducted

2 working days

by 30 June 2021

2.

At least 5 online consultative meetings with the representatives of the National Police to identify the existing gaps and inconsistences of the current relevant practice with the national and international standards in this field, agree on the structure of the Guidelines for Ukrainian police on emergency barring orders against perpetrators of gender-based violence conducted and the content of the guidelines at various stages of its development validated by UN Women and National Police.

3 days

by 30 September 2021

3.

First draft of the Guidelines for Ukrainian police on emergency barring orders against perpetrators of gender-based violence presented to and approved by UN Women and National Police.

10 working days

by 30 July 2021

4.

Final Guidelines for Ukrainian police on emergency barring orders against perpetrators of gender-based violence incorporating the comments received from UN Women and Ministry of Internal Affairs presented to and approved by UN Women and National Police

3 working days

by 30 August 2021

5.

Recommendations for amending specific regulations/instructions used by police when issuing gender-based/domestic violence emergency barring orders submitted and approved by UN Women and National Police

3 working days

by 30 September 2021

6.

A presentation of the Guidelines for relevant stakeholders during an online meeting organized by UN Women jointly with National Police delivered

1 working days

by 15 October 2021

Total:

22 days

All the above listed deliverables will be presented in English. Ukrainian interpretation during the meetings will be ensured by UN Women. The International Consultant is expected to work from home. UN Women will provide strategic guidance and relevant documentation.

1. Performance evaluation:

International Consultant’s performance will be evaluated against such criteria as: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered. The evaluation will be carried out and cleared by the hiring manager after receiving and accepting deliverables as per above schedule, which will also be the basis for payment to the Consultant.

Financial arrangements:

• Payment will be disbursed in two installments (first installment for Deliverables 1 and 3; second installment for Deliverables 2, 4, 5 and 6) upon the approval of the deliverables and the certification by the UN Women Programme Specialist that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Human Rights based Approach and Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s Degree or Equivalent in Law, International Relations, Gender Studies, Social Sciences or other related fields.

Experience:

• Minimum 7 years of experience in the field of law, human rights and gender equality;
• Previous experience in developing guidelines, handbooks, manuals on police response to gender-based violence, including domestic violence, preferably with specific experience in developing guidelines on emergency barring orders for police.
• Proven in-depth knowledge of international standards in the field of gender-based violence and gender-responsive policing. Knowledge of relevant Ukrainian legal frameworks will be considered an asset;
• Excellent drafting skills;
• Previous cooperation/working experience with the United Nations or international organizations is an asset.

Language:

• Excellent written and oral command of English;
• Knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian is desired.

Evaluation of Applicants:

Applications will be evaluated based on the cumulative analysis taking into consideration the combination of their qualifications and financial proposal. A two-stage procedure is utilized in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any price proposal being compared. The award of the contract should be made to the individuals whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable.
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.

Technical criteria - 70% of total evaluation. Total max 70 points:

• The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 70. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on desk review and following technical qualification evaluation criteria:

Technical Evaluation Criteria

Maximum obtainable Points

Criterion A – Relevant education

• Master’s Degree or Equivalent in Law, International Relations, Gender Studies, Social Sciences or other related fields.

10

Criterion B – Language skills

• Excellent written and oral command of English – 4 points
• Knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian is desired – 5 points

5

Criterion C – Relevant Experience with total for all of the following criteria

55 including:

• Minimum 7 years of experience in the field of law, human rights and gender equality;

10

• Previous experience in developing guidelines, handbooks, manuals on police response to gender-based violence, including domestic violence, preferably with specific experience in developing guidelines on emergency barring orders for police

15

• Proven in-depth knowledge of international standards in the field of gender-based violence and gender-responsive policing. Knowledge of relevant Ukrainian legal frameworks will be considered an asset

15

• Previous cooperation/working experience with the United Nations or international organizations is an asset.

5

• Excellent drafting skills

10

Total Obtainable Score

70

Financial/Price Proposal evaluation****:

• Only the financial proposal of candidates who have attained a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation will be further considered and evaluated.
• The total number of points allocated for the financial/price component is 30.

• The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest price proposal that is opened/ evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.

• Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 30 (S- score received on financial evaluation; F min - the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round; F - financial offer under the consideration).

Application and submission package:

The candidate’s application should include:

Completed and signed UN Women Personal History (P-11) form, that can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-p11-personal-history-form.doc?la=en&vs=558

• Proposal. The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount with a breakdown of a daily professional rate per number of anticipated working days to include all costs (telephone, internet etc.)

Interested candidates are requested to apply no later than 23:59 EEST 11 June 2021 by submitting 2 attachments: 1) technical (P-11 and a sample of report, guidelines/tools, expert papers, or relevant publication) as well as 2) financial proposal to the following e-mail address: hr.ukraine@unwomen.org with a subject “UN Women Ukraine – International Consultant on developing guidelines for Ukrainian police on emergency barring orders against perpetrators of gender-based violence”.

Applications without financial proposal will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

UN Women applies fair and transparent selection process that would take into account the competencies/skills of the applicants as well as their financial proposals.

Sample of Financial Proposal

The format shown on the following tables is suggested for use as a guide in preparing the Financial Proposal

Cost Breakdown per Deliverables*

Deliverables

# of days and Percentage of Total Price (Weight for payment)

Price, USD

(Lump Sum, All Inclusive)

1

2

Total

max. # of working days (100%)

USD ……

*Basis for payment tranches

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Added 2 years ago - Updated 2 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org