UNDP Jobs - 40405- Re-advertisement - International Consultant

Re-advertisement - International Consultant - Paper on Gender Based Violence and Legislation in Brazil - (Those who previously applied do not need to apply again)

Location :

Home based

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

07-Nov-13 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Forty Five working days spread over five months.

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Since the publication of the first Human Development Report in 1990, UNDP, under the intellectual stewardship of Mr. Mahbul-ul-Haq and Mr. Amartya Sen, has pioneered the Human Development paradigm that provided an alternative people centric view of development. The paradigm has gained wide acceptance globally as is evident by the adoption of human development reporting to inform policy at various levels of government across the world.

UNDP and the Government of India have a long history of association on human development and have jointly spearheaded the world’s largest initiative of preparation of sub-national Human Development Reports (HDRs). UNDP together with the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, has initiated the International Centre of Human Development (IC4HD) in New Delhi in a project mode. The mandate of the IC4HD is to ensure that human development concerns become integral to planning processes and policy making and to support national governments and civil society organizations to actualize human development for people.

Towards achieving its objective, the Centre undertakes the following activities in the areas of

Policy advisory services;
South-south cooperation;
Analysis of human development issues;
Monitoring and evaluation.

The Centre is organizing a consultation for countries of the global South to share their experiences, good practices, lessons learned and critical issues related to the legislation on violence against women, which should aim at preventing violence against women, ensuring investigation, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators, and providing protection and support to complainants/survivors of violence.

Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread violations of human rights worldwide. It takes place in every country, in peacetime as well as in situations of conflict and crisis, and affects women and girls’ lives and ability to make the choices that they value. Ending violence against women is a priority for action, at the global/regional/national and sub-national levels. A collective and holistic response is needed to build in correctives, promote behavioral changes, and translate international standards and national policies into actions that effectively reach women. To stop violence against women, prevention and protection should go hand in hand.

While we take into cognizance the wide variety of factors that influence the perpetuation of violence against women the focus of this assignment is to look at law as a mechanism of response to counter the same. We seek to envision how Law is an instrument of ‘formal social control’ can succeed in countering violence against women where informal social and cultural norms fail. In recent years progress has been recorded in elaborating and agreeing on international standards and norms aiming to stop violence against women. International and regional legal and policy instruments have clarified the obligations on States to prevent, eradicate and punish violence against women. Yet, challenges remain.

There are countries that continue to remain without domestic violence laws. For example, 12 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa remain without domestic violence laws. And even in countries where laws and policies have been introduced to combat violence against women, as noted in the 2011-2012 Progress of the World’s Women report, “the infrastructure of justice – the police, the courts and the judiciary – is failing women, which manifests itself in poor services and hostile attitudes from the very people whose duty it is to fulfill women’s human rights”. Thus, an integrated approach is required to ensure that policies, reforms and laws are in place and implemented, but also that all members of the societies are aware of their rights, are empowered to demand them and recognise that violence against women is a crime. The justice system needs to recognize violence, prosecute offenders, and address impunity.

The paper will provide an overview of gender based violence in Brazil and of the legislation which aims to address and prevent sexual violence against women in the country.

The paper will also:

Highlight, inter alia, if the existing legislation is limited to scope and coverage, such as the definitions of rape by use of force; if definitions of domestic violence are limited to physical violence, rather than a crime against a woman’s right to bodily integrity, etc.;
Indicate if legal measures designed to protect women have been accompanied by measures to empower them (e.g., to ensure awareness, to ensure that women are able to bring their cases to a court, etc.);
Consider how the review of legal provisions has contributed to regard violence against women as a violation of fundamental rights which negatively affects women’s capabilities;
The analysis will also attempt to identify existing good practices from a people-centred approach.

The paper will build on evidence-based knowledge and identify policy implications and recommendations for various actors to ensure that laws work for women and contribute to prevent violence against women.

Duties and Responsibilities

The services of an expert are required to prepare a well-researched discussion paper and identify policy implications and recommendations to ensure that laws work for women and contribute to prevent violence against women in Brazil. The paper will be evidence based and will provide analysis from a human development perspective.

Specific functions include:

The consultant will submit a substantive paper which would take into account the human development approach. The major arguments of the paper must be substantiated with examples and good practices.

The Consultant is expected to submit:

A first cut of the outline/table of contents, indicating the structure of the paper 10 days from commission of the work. The draft outline will be reviewed internally by the IC4HD Team and feedback will be provided to the consultant;
First draft of the paper by 28 November 2013 including a comprehensive bibliography and proper in text referencing system;
The draft will be reviewed internally by the IC4HD Team and feedback will be provided to the consultant;
Revised full draft by 15 January 2013, with a maximum of 20,000 words including an executive summary of not more than 2,000 words. The revised draft will be reviewed internally as well as externally and feedback will be provided to the consultant;
Final paper by 28 February 2014.

The consultant may be required to present the draft paper at a workshop organized on the theme and incorporate suggestions made by the experts attending the workshop into the revised draft.

The paper will not be deemed completed until feedback from IC4HD is fully addressed.
The deliverables will be the property of IC4HD and copyright will be vested with IC4HD.
The consultant will report to the IC4HD Director.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Analytical skills;
Excellent communication skills;
Ability to meet deadlines;
Excellent written and verbal communication skills as well as strong analytical skills;
Strong personal commitment to gender equality and human rights;

Core Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards;
Positive, constructive attitude to work;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

A master’s degree, preferably in the fields of law, economics, gender, development or social sciences.

Experience:

At least 10 years of relevant work experience, particularly in the area of law, gender economics, researching VAW or a related field in context of Brazil;
Expertise in research on violence against women or other gender issues, particularly from a law perspective in context of Brazil.

Language:

Fluency in English.

Proposed Work Methodology:

Proposed work methodology or work plan for execution of work has to be submitted.

Financial Proposal:

Consultant should specify his/her daily consultancy fee.
One short trip to India is expected in December 2013 which would be handled separately.

CV:

Consultant should submit his/her updated CV with three references.

Notes:

Miscellaneous charges i.e. internet, phone, relocation charges, local travel etc. would not be reimbursed separately;
Individuals working with institutions may also apply, contract would be issued in the name of institution for the specific services of individual;
Please note proposals without financial proposal will not be considered;
Methodology of Work, CV and Financial proposal can be clubbed in one file for uploading.

Payment Schedule:

Payment would be done as per deliverables:

20% on approval of outline;
40% on acceptance of first draft;
40% on submission and acceptance of final paper.

Evaluation Method and Criteria:

Cumulative analysis

The award of the contract shall be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

Responsive;
Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation;
Technical Criteria weight - 70%;
Financial Criteria weight - 30%.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points (70% of the total technical points) would be considered for the Financial Evaluation.

Criteria for Technical Evaluation would be as under:

Relevant Experience - 35%;
Proposed work plan for undertaking the assignment-35%.

For any clarification please write to sandeep.sharma@undp.org.