UN WOMEN Jobs - 59742- Re Advertisement - National Consultancy on Assessm

Re Advertisement - National Consultancy on Assessment of Court Cases on Violence Against Women.

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Dar es Salaam, TANZANIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

21-Sep-2015

Application Deadline :

17-Sep-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

40 Working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

40 Working days

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

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.

The UN Women Tanzania Country Programme is part of United Nations Delivering as One and its programmatic activities constitute part of the UN Development Assistance Programme (UNDAP) 2014-2016. UN Women is member of the UN Programme Working Group on Governance that ‘hosts’ UN agency activities on Ending Violence against Women and Children.

Under its Strategic Note for 2014-2016, UN Women has committed to work with key stakeholders including government Ministries and Departments and CSOs to implement different interventions aiming at contributing to the efforts to eradicate Violence Against Women.

The work under this consultancy has a particular focus on delivering results around two key outcomes:

Laws, policies and strategies are adopted to respond to and prevent violence against women, in line with international standards;
Women and girls use multi-sectoral, quality VAW services.

In Tanzania policies and laws that provide for women’s rights do exist. These laws protecting women’s rights include but are not limited to the Constitution of United Republic of Tanzania, Land Laws, Penal Code and Employment Labor Relations. The Women in Development and Gender Policy 2000 has contributed to important achievements in addressing various issues of gender and women specifically. Its objectives stress that there will not be laws which are gender discriminative either from the government or customs and traditions. Actions to address violence against women have also been incorporated in the National Development vision 2025, and the National Plan of Action for the Prevention and Eradication of Violence against Women and Children 2001-2015. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) has through its Reproductive and Child Health Section (RHC) developed a Gender Based Violence policy and management guidelines to be used by actors and implementers in providing quality care to survivors of VAW.

Based on the Government’s initiatives above and following the ratification and signing of various international and regional treaties and conventions by the Government relating to protection and promotion of women’s rights it was expected that Tanzania’s legal and regulatory framework would provide adequate mechanisms to ensure that the process of dispensation of justice takes on board VAW/G issues. However persistent back-log of cases has remained a serious constraint in access to justice. According to the report of the Assessment of the Legal Sector in Tanzania 2014, “large back-log of cases and delays eventually increase systematic unfairness as many people try to short-circuit the process through corruption… and other legal and illegal measures.” Hence there is need to strengthen the legal system to improve access to justice for the poor and marginalized women and girls who also experience violence in many forms.

This assessment on the status of VAW cases in Courts is a key component of a project “Strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Constitutional and Legal Affairs for Women’s Rights Legal Review and to Institutionalize response to Violence against Women in the Legal Sector” between UN Women and the Ministry of Constitutional and Legal Affairs (MoCLA), as it will help to establish duration under which VAW cases are being concluded, extent to which judges and magistrates are applying CEDAW and other human rights provisions, challenges and available opportunities to build on to ensure quality and timely delivery of justice to women. The two entities have partnered to work together to enhance the skills and knowledge among the Judiciary on fast tracking VAW cases and strengthen coordination and support to women’s rights law review process. The project will also endeavor to regulate and coordinate VAW case management at the regional and national levels to improve the quality of legal services to VAW victims.

The project is aligned with MoCLA’s strategic plan, Medium Term Framework and the Action Plan for 2015/2016 which all put emphasis on improving access to Justice for the poor and disadvantaged, including women. The strategic documents above also put emphasis on coordination on Constitutional review and the review of other laws to enhance and protect human rights including the rights of women.

Duties and Responsibilities

The specific objectives of the assessment are the following:

To determine the status of VAW specific cases in Courts;
To identify the gaps, obstacles and irregularities of VAW specific cases in Courts;
To assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the Courts to handle VAW cases;
To analyse findings and come up with recommendations on fast-tracking the cases and reduce the back-log.

The assessment will act as a baseline study and should be done in sampled Primary Courts, District Courts and the Resident Magistrates Courts in the three regions of Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Dodoma. A reasonably large sample size should be chosen depending on the region. The rural/urban divide should also be considered to capture information on challenges from both.

In the assessment, the consultant should conduct desk reviews based on decided cases and interview magistrates and prosecutors. She/he should also assess the court environment and gender desks to establish to what extent they contribute to success or failure in the case handling. Finally the review should include good practices on VAW Court case handling from other countries to inform the final recommendations

Key Deliverables:

Develop inception report including the methodology for the assessment and the tools for data collection;
Present the inception report at the inception meeting and incorporate inputs;
Conduct a desk review/literature review of the available policies, programmes, procedures/regulations, reports, and other documents pertaining to VAW specific cases in Courts;
Facilitate primary data collection in all agreed upon districts using methodologies indicated and agreed in the Inception Report, including but not limited to Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), individual/key informant interviews, questionnaires etc;
Ensure that pertinent bodies are contacted and provide information for the primary data collection and analysis;
Interview service recipients to assess the services of the Courts related to VAW cases;
On basis of primary and secondary data, compile and share an analytical report with findings and recommendations, using clear examples and references and not assumptions, to UN Women Country Office in both hard and soft copies. The consultant needs to use & refer to reliable data;
Submit draft assessment report with full content for UN Women and MoCLA to provide inputs;
Incorporate inputs and submit the revised assessment report;
Present the revised report in the validation workshop and reflect/clarify on points to be raised;
Integrate inputs and submit final assessment report to UN Women in both hard and soft copies

Implementation timeframe

The consultancy shall be undertaken over a period of 40 days that will start running from the date of signing the consultancy agreement.

The consultant is expected to develop and submit an action report including work plan as a pre- requisite for signing of agreement.

Finalization of assessment methodology and corresponding data collection tools (2 working days);
Presentation of the inception report at inception meeting (1 working day);
Submit revised inception report incorporating the comments at the inception meeting (2 working days);
Data collection and Submission of the draft report (24 working days);
Submit draft report incorporating comments (7 working days);
Present the findings and the recommendation of the assessment at a validation workshop (1 working day);
Submit final written report of the assessment (3 working days).

Competencies

Demonstrate commitment to upholding and promoting the values of the United Nations in actions and decisions, in line with the UN code of Conduct;
Demonstrate professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
Display cultural, gender, religious, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Create and promotes an environment for open and effective communication;
Share knowledge and builds a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
Be strong team player.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in Law, Social Sciences, Gender/Women’s Studies, Political Science or any other relevant field.

Experience:

A minimum of 10 years of relevant working experience on areas related to access to justice in Tanzania;
Extensive knowledge of the legal, policy and institutional framework relating to women’s rights and VAW in Tanzania;
Experience working on women’s access to justice and violence against women and children;
A proven track record in designing and conducting analyses that use participatory methods;
Good analytical and communication skills;

Language:

High level of proficiency in both written and oral English and in Kiswahili.

Submission of application:

Interested consultants need to submit the following documentation in support of their application:

One cover letter: Explaining why the candidate is the most suitable for the work;
Proposed approach and envisioned work plan; indicates the travel budget, supported by a breakdown of costs;
UN Women Personal History Form (P11), which can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment
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