Background
UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination and violence 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 supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programs and services needed to implement these standards.
Violence against women and girls (VAWG), especially domestic violence, continues to be a widespread social problem in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and a serious violation of fundamental human rights. This type of violence is still seen and tolerated as a “socially acceptable behaviour” and is justified by traditional and patriarchal conceptions of the role and status of women in BiH society. New research data available in 2013 in the field of domestic violence indicate that almost half of the women in BiH older than 15 have been subjected at least once in their lifetime to some kind of violence and that women are exposed to a high risk of violence, first in her immediate, intimate environment of relationships with her partner and family, and then in the broader community. Bosnia and Herzegovina is amongst the first countries that ratified the Istanbul Convention entered into force in August 2014. By ratifying it, the state assumes its obligation to fully address violence against women in all its forms and to take measures to prevent it, protect its victims and prosecute the perpetrators. Failure to do so would make it the responsibility of the state. UN Women has supported the ratification and will support the implementation of the Istanbul Convention.
The UN Women BIH country office aims to support the BiH Government and civil society organizations in addressing a number of gaps in the implementation of legislation and government policies, as well as in the areas of service provision, long-term support to the victims of gender based violence and prevention, particularly focusing on early intervention and the active inclusion of boys and men.
The purpose of this consultancy is to engage a professional to support the expert team for the preparation and monitoring of the implementation of the Strategy for Preventing and Combatting Domestic Violence (2013-2017), in their efforts to harmonise the entity legislation on domestic violence with the Istanbul Convention. The working team will be coordinated by the Federation Gender Center and a consultant with expertise in legal regulations on gender based violence, police and international standards will be hired to do an initial assessment and provide technical expertise in two main areas:
- Police response/interventions in domestic violence cases.
- Legal fields covered by the Istanbul Convention (social protection and assistance to survivors of domestic violence, security, health care, judiciary, social assistance, judiciary, safe houses and other).
This Terms of Reference are to select the consultant with expertise in the legal areas covered by the Istanbul Convention that will closely coordinate with the other members of the team and with a representative of the FBIH Gender Centre and a representative UN Women BiH. The expert will also lead the consultative meetings with institutions and non-governmental organisations.
DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVE
The overall goal of the UN Women BiH Program in this area is to reduce violence against women and girls by preventing, addressing and combating its presence and prevalence in the society.
IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE
This assignment will contribute to advancing the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by harmonizing the existing laws and strategies with the Istanbul Convention.
Duties and Responsibilities
The consultant is expected to deliver an analysis of the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence, by-laws and their compliance with the Istanbul Convention.
ACTIVITIES AND TIMEFRAME
The consultant will be expected to complete the following tasks within the indicative timeframe:
Tasks Days
- Desk Research 6
- Organise and lead two consultative meetings with representatives of institutions and non-governmental organisations. 6
- Drafting the assessment 10
- Validation with institutions and non-governmental organisations to present the assessment and get additional feedback. 4
- Finalisation of the assessment 4
Total 30
The consultancy will last 30 working days over the period September – November, 2015.
REPORTING
The consultant will be responsible for the following deliverables:
- Validated analysis of the harmonisation of the legal framework of the FBiH and the Istanbul Convention.
- Concrete recommendations to proceed with the harmonisation.
- Final Consultancy Report with the main results in English.
Competencies
Competencies:
- Builds strong relationships;
- Focuses on impact and results and responds positively to feedback;
- Approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
Values:
- Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling UN values and ethical standards;
- Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
- Displays cultural, gender, nationality, religion and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Required Skills and Experience
Academic Qualifications:
- University degree in a relevant field such as law, politics, international development, gender studies or similar field, supported by relevant experience. A Master’s degree would be considered an advantage.
Skills and Experience:
- At least ten years of demonstrated work experience in producing legal analysis.
- At least five years of experience in police related work.
- Demonstrated experience in developing legal regulations on gender based violence.
- Previous experience working/consulting for international projects/programmes;
- Fluency in English and B/H/S, excellent spoken and written skills.
DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS
Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents:
- Expression of interest
- Detailed financial proposal (which includes consultancy fees, travel, accommodation, subsistence etc.)
- UN P11 form
Please note: All documents have to be uploaded in 1 single file.
EVALUATION OF OFFERS
UN Women applies a fair and transparent selection process that takes into account both the technical qualification of potential consultants as well as the financial proposals submitted in support of consultant applications. Candidate applications will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of applicant qualifications, experience and financial proposal. The contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:
- responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
- having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.
Criteria:
Technical Evaluation – documents based (70%), out of which:
Financial Evaluation (30%)
Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 20
S - score received on financial evaluation;
Fmin - the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round;
F - financial offer under the consideration.
Please note that travel costs should be covered by the consultant.
Qualified women and men and members of minorities are encouraged to apply. 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.
Due to large number of applications we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.