International Consultant to align SGBV legislation in 5 CA countries with international EVAWG standards (CEDAW, Istanbul Convention etc.)

Contract

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Background

The Spotlight Initiative (SI) is a global, multi-year partnership between European Union and United Nations to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls by 2030. Funded by the European Union, the Initiative is responding to all forms of violence against women and girls, with a particular focus on domestic and family violence, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and harmful practices, femicide, trafficking in human beings and sexual and economic (labour) exploitation. Further information can be found at https://www.spotlightinitiative.org

The Spotlight Initiative regional programme for Central Asia and Afghanistan managed from Kazakhstan (Almaty) in cooperation with all participating countries will harness the collective expertise, experiences, challenges and energy of gender equality advocates from the five Central Asian countries, as well as Afghanistan. It invests in the development of a Central Asia Alliance on SGBV, comprised of both government and non-governmental stakeholders, including parliamentarians, ministries and government departments, judiciary and police, civil society organisations, activists, survivors, youth, men and religious leaders.

Through collective thinking and collective advocacy, Central Asia-specific models for legislative, policy and institutional reform will be developed that will be grounded in the international norms and standards guiding work on SGBV, including the CEDAW, the CRC and the Istanbul Convention. In addition, the Models will reflect the importance of gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) methodologies – including costing – to ensure prevention and response to SGBV and harmful practices is robust and in line with the Global agenda to leave no one behind.

The Spotlight Initiative Pillar 1 aims at aligning legislative frameworks, based on evidence and in line with international human rights standards, on all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and harmful practices and translated into plans. The majority of legislative frameworks in the region lack comprehensive legislation prohibiting and responding to all forms of SGBV and do not align comprehensively with the international commitments, norms and standards outlined in the CEDAW and CRC Conventions, both of which all six countries have ratified; nor as outlined in the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). And while none of the six countries have ratified the Council of Europe (CoE)’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention) the standards it upholds, including the criminalisation of all acts of SGBV, including DV, are gaining traction in the region, particularly among the CSOs and the national women’s/gender machineries. It is essential that the legislation pertaining to SGBV and harmful practices align with the international norms and standards agreed to by all Central Asian countries. The legislation in the countries lack comprehensive scope, contain limited definitions of either family, types of violence, types of relationships and in some cases, insufficient definitions of gender equality. Further, there is a lack of clarity in the laws around enforcement, division of roles, the legalities of Protection Order implementation, and lack of comprehensive inclusion of the steps and measures required for a survivor-oriented multi-sectoral response to cases of SGBV. Moreover, protection orders have been ineffective in cases where they allow for continued co-habitation if the perpetrator has no alternative housing. Hence this raises issues of security and further psychological impact on the violence survivor that have not been considered.

Through the SI, the process of conducting the review will lay the groundwork for establishing a UN-supported Central-Asia wide Alliance over the coming five years (see Outcome 2). Initially, through SI support and at the Central Asia level, the UN will bring together representatives from the Offices of the Presidents, NWMs, Ministries of Justice, Ministries of Health and Social Welfare, women leaders including Parliamentarians and national/regional gender equality experts and advocates from CSOs, including violence survivors and those representing socially vulnerable groups.

For this consultancy Spotlight Initiative Programme is looking for international consultant who will align comprehensively legal analysis in five Central Asia countries with the international commitments, norms and standards outlined in the CEDAW and CRC Conventions. Two national consultants will be hired to conduct desk review of national legislation in 5 CA countries, incorporating existing latest analysis and research in this area. This will ensure unified and coherent approach to having legal review in five countries.

Duties and Responsibilities

The International Consultant will be responsible for the following tasks:

1) Develop and submit detailed workplan with timeframe for desk review, including documents to be reviewed, coordination with the national consultants, timeframe etc.

2) Develop methodology for conducting review of national SGBV legislation and law enforcement practices and their alignment with international norms and standards. This methodology should be used and applied when conducting review in 5 Central Asia countries to ensure coherent and unified approach. This methodology should be developed in a format of knowledge product to further disseminate and share in the region and globally.

3) Conduct a desk review of the main international principles on SGBV legislation, best practices and lessons learnt on strengthening SGBV legislation and challenges the alignment to international norms and standards might face in CA. This review should include but is not limited to complex and multi-sectoral nature of SGBV, including domestic violence, (health, legal/justice, security judiciary, labor and education), M&E frameworks, CSO’s engagement, local management, financing mechanisms, collaboration and coordination across key sectors. 4) Conduct gap analysis of the regional (Central Asian) tendencies in aligning SGBV legislation with CEDAW and related General Recommendations, the Istanbul Convention, the CRC General Recommendations, the Istanbul Convention, the CRC and related General Comments , the ICPD Programme of Action, the BPfA and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and related General Comment, which will form part of launching the Central Asia Alliance on SGBV. Prepare comparative table per each harmful practice separately.

5) Develop a clear strategy of aligning the legal framework on SGBV to international norms and a set of clear cut recommendations surrounding how to strengthen the scope and application of SGBV legislation, harmonizing these with international norms and standards, as well as the recommended actions for criminalizing SGBV, based on the national reviews (conducted by the national consultants) and given the regional/country context. The strategy and recommendations should be provided for each area separately (DV legislation, sexual offence, child marriages etc). Conduct an expert meeting with partners in Central Asia (government agencies, NGOs, international organizations, expert community) to validate the findings and recommendations. Among the key topics to be discussed at the expert meeting is sufficiency of existing legal framework at the country level (findings), how international standards might be applied to strengthen it, applicability assessment of the proposed measures, and summary and conclusions drawn for the regional level findings and points for a discussion. Interim results should be agreed online by submitting for review and approval. Conduct discussion of the final report and findings (with prior submission of the draft review) with the participating agencies and the regional network of specialists coordinated by UN agencies.

6) Finalize final report based on the findings of the series of discussions (Tasks 5 and 6) including a strategy, recommendations and other supporting documents as attachments.

The International Consultant is expected to work from home and conduct online consultations with the SI Project Officer and two national consultants who will prepare a review of national SGBV legislations in Central Asia based on the methodology developed by International Consultant. All deliverables are submitted to and approved by the SI Project Officer

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration

Required Skills and Experience

Criteria

Maximum points

Education

Advanced degree in Social Science, Research methods, Gender studies, Development studies, International Law, Public Policy and Administration, and other related fields

50

Professional work experience

• Proven experience in analysis of legislation, policies, codes, strategies and plans, providing technical assistance, program, policy analysis, and strategic planning, working with, and building partnerships with governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally (supporting materials or link to the site where the document is available to learn about the candidate’s experience);

• Experience in conducting review and analysis of legislation in the area of gender equality and/or SGBV in developing countries (supporting materials or link to the site where the document is available to learn about the candidate’s experience);

• Experience in working on rights-based approaches including intervention models to address multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination (supporting materials or link to the site where the document is available to learn about the candidate’s experience);

• Experience with UN agencies and other international organizations, as well as with government agencies for promoting gender equality is an asset;

• Previous experience of working in Central Asia (desirable).

180

120

70

160

80

Languages

Excellent writing and speaking skills in English (20) and/or Russian (20)

40

Maximum total technical scoring (70%)

700

Only candidates, who will accumulate at least 490 (70%) points of the maximum 700 points during the technical evaluation process, will be qualified for financial proposal*.

* Each candidate will be requested to submit consolidated financial proposal (a "consolidated financial proposal" that includes applicant's all expenses required to perform the tasks, including travel expenses for the task, etc.).

1. Application Process:

All documents should be sent including:

1. CV/ UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment
2. Technical proposal describing how the expected assignment will be performed. The technical proposal should also include:

• analysis of legislation, policies, codes, strategies and plans, providing technical assistance, program, policy analysis, and strategic planning, working with, and building partnerships with governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally (supporting materials or link to the site where the document is available to learn about the candidate’s experience);
• Experience in conducting review and analysis of legislation in the area of gender equality and/or SGBV in developing countries;
• Experience in working on rights-based approaches including intervention models to address multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination (supporting materials or link to the site where the document is available to learn about the candidate’s experience)

3. Financial proposal, including a USD amount to include all costs and expenses the consultant will have to fulfill all tasks within the framework of this ToR.

Only candidates who have passed the preliminary selection will be informed.

Kindly note, that the system will only allow one attachment, hence all supporting document e.g. P11, CV, technical and financial proposals must be scanned as one attachment. Applications without the completed UNDP P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.