Antecedentes

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.

Women’s leadership and political participation is one of UN Women’s primary areas of work as mandated in its inception, recognizing the integral role of women in strong and stable democratic processes. Through its Leadership and Governance section, UN Women works to implement Output 4 of the Entity’s Strategic Plan 2018-21 “More women of all ages fully participate, lead and engage in political institutions and processes”.

To promote the leadership and participation of women in all levels of decision-making processes, UN Women works with a range of stakeholders including women leaders and aspiring candidates, national parliaments and parliamentarians, political parties, media, civil society organizations, and electoral management bodies, in coordination with UN partner Entities, through a wide range of interventions which include: i) support gender responsive legal reforms, and institutional processes to advance women’s participation and representation (including initiatives to address violence against women in politics); ii) build capacities of women leaders and aspiring candidates; iii) promote change of gender norms through advocacy and outreach initiatives targeting communities, political leaders and the media; iv) support women leaders in gender responsive political institutions; and v) support measurement and monitoring of women’s political participation and its obstacles.

Despite some country case studies and regional initiatives, global data and research on women’s participation and representation in local government lagged, resulting in a significant knowledge gap. The integration of SDG indicator 5.5.1b in the SDG monitoring framework, acknowledges the importance of a whole of government approach and women’s voices and leadership at local level. Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Tunisia have been reporting on SDG 5.5.1b and the proportion of elected seats held by women in deliberative bodies of local government (%):

But no indicator reflects on the obstacles women face while being active in the political spheres at local level. One of the main obstacles is Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWP).

UN Women defines VAWP as:

“Violence against women in political life is any act of, or threat of, gender-based violence, resulting in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering to women, that prevents them from exercising and realizing their political rights, whether in public or private spaces, including the right to vote and hold public office, to vote in secret and to freely campaign, to associate and assemble, and to enjoy freedom of opinion and expression. Such violence can be perpetrated by a family member, community member and or by the State...”

VAWP can take many forms, from misogynistic and sexist verbal attacks, psychological to the most commonplace acts of harassment and sexual harassment, and it is also perpetrated online.  Types of VAWP range from psychological, sexual, and physical, and, more recently, cyber acts of violence. Assassinations, physical violence, including rape and sexual harassment, sexist remarks, verbal abuse, and threats of reprisal are used as tools to intimidate, humiliate and, worse, put an end to a woman’s political career.

In the Arab States, very limited data is available on VAWP in all its forms, even less so at local level, and whenever available, all forms of VAW are not considered.  For instance, it is only recently that studies have started considering VAW conducted online. Anecdotal data from Tunisia found that “80 percent of women in Tunisia have experienced violence on the internet”. Moreover, some groups of women in the region, including human rights defenders, women in politics, journalists, bloggers find themselves targeted by ICT-facilitated violence. With the spread of violent extremist ideas in some countries of the region, and shrinking space for civil society and women’s rights, violence towards women leaders and activists has increased:

In most cases, VAWP goes underreported to formal institutions due to the culture of silence, stigma and impunity associated with gender-based violence.

Objective of the Assignment:

In this context, the UN Women ROAS seeks to support a multi-country study on VAWP at local level (Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Tunisia). The study will document and quantify experiences of women in politics at local level, with a particular focus on assessing their obstacles to political participation, including the experiences of violence, forms of violence, risk and protective factors, help-seeking behaviours, and consequences it may have on women’s health, well-being as well as on their political participation and leadership. In view of the increasing use of social media in the region to frustrate women’s political engagement, the study will also have a particular emphasis on this form of violence. This information will be complemented by an assessment of the national legislative and policy frameworks on women’s political participation and VAWP, enabling the identification of entry points for strengthening the monitoring, normative and institutional framework on VAWP. The information harnessed will serve to inform programme content and direction.

The study will include both qualitative and quantitative components. While  UN Women ROAS will contract a data collection company to conduct the quantitative component, UN Women ROAS will also contract a regional consultant to support in the qualitative component of the study, and in particular the consolidation of inputs from the focus group discussions conducted in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Tunisia.

Considering that the study must be finalized in 2021, the focus group discussions are intended to be organized in late August – early September 2021, with the exact dates and modalities to be discussed and agreed on by UN Women, with guidance from the regional and national consultants.

Deberes y responsabilidades

The national Consultant will work under the supervision of UN Women Special Representative in the State of Palestine, and will work closely with UN Women ROAS, in particular the Regional Policy Adviser on Women’s Political Participation.

The national Consultant will provide timely technical support and coordination required to organize, facilitate and report on focus group discussions conducted in Gaza with locally elected women as well as representative of civil society organizations, who will be invited to share their personal experiences and testimonies on the prevalence of VAWP at local level.

The focus group discussions are to be held between the last week of August and the first half of September.

 To achieve this objective, the national Consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Provide substantive inputs to the focus groups guide proposed by ROAS and Country Offices.
• Support the organization of the focus group discussions, as required.
• Facilitate and moderate (2) focus group discussions with a representative sample of locally elected women in (North, centre and south of Gaza)
• Gather and consolidate all comments, testimonies and inputs issued by participants on (i) the focus groups on the VAWP at local level and (ii) their personal experiences and illustrations on the prevalence of the phenomenon, in all focus group discussions organized in Gaza.
• Provide an annex with full details on participants (names, dates, location and contacts).

Deliverables of the National Consultant include the following listed below:

• Deliverable 1:  Workplan including focus group discussions’, methodology, targets and timeframe. 1 day Within 4 days of starting date
• Deliverable 2: Summary report of information gathered in the focus group discussions, including comments made on the topic
  • personal stories and testimonies that could be included in the final report on VAWP at local level.
  • full details on participants (name, date, contacts, location of interview) 3 days
  • By 12 September 2021

Competencias

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity.
• Integrity.
• Progfessionalism.

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues.
• Accountability.
• Creative Problem Solving.
• 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

 Functional Competencies:

• Ability to moderate and lead focus groups professionally.
• Sound practical knowledge on women’s political participation and EVAW programming including on prevention and mitigation of violence against women in elections/politics.
• Previous experience in field-based women’s political participation/EVAW programming in a variety of cultural and political contexts, particularly in developing countries, is an asset.
• Ability to work effectively and harmoniously with people from varied cultures and professional backgrounds, demonstrating excellent interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to produce well-written reports and/or programme documents demonstrating analytical ability.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Experience in working with UN Women or UN or international NGOs on women’s political participation or electoral assistance.

Judgement/Decision-Making:

• Openness to change and ability to receive/integrate feedback.
• Demonstrates integrity and ethical standards.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or PhD) in Gender, Political Science, Sociology, International Relations, Law or relevant field. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years professional experience in the field of gender equality and gender analysis particularly in the area of violence against women in the Arab States region.
• At least 3 previous assignments related to facilitating trainings or sessions, preferably in the area of women’s rights, VAW or gender justice.
• At least 3 previous assignments in moderating focus groups and preparing analytical reports and assessments, in the field of gender, or women’s rights or violence against women in Gaza.
• Experience with the UN system or/and International Organizations is an asset.

Langauge Requierements:

• Fluency in English and Arabic is required.
• Knowledge of French, an UN official working language, is an asset.
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment, IT tools, including Zoom, ability to use Internet and email.

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 70% (70 points)

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or PhD) in Gender, Political Science, Sociology, International Relations, Law or relevant field. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. (15)
• At least 5 years professional experience in the field of gender equality and gender analysis particularly in the area of violence against women in the Arab States region. (15)
• At least 3 previous assignments related to facilitating trainings or sessions, preferably in the area of women’s rights, VAW or gender justice.(15)
• At least 3 previous assignments in moderating focus groups and preparing analytical reports and assessments, in the field of gender, or women’s rights or violence against women in Gaza (15)
• Experience with the UN system or/and International Organizations is an asset.(10)

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

Only the candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% of total points (i.e., 49 points) will be considered as technically-qualified candidate.

Financial: Lowest Financial Proposal: 30% (30 points)

The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

• Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical).
• The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula: (Lowest Bid Offered*)/ (Bid of the Consultant) x 30.
• Lowest Bid Offered' refers to the lowest price offered by Offerors scoring at least 49 points in the technical evaluation.

Interested Individual Consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

• A cover letter with a brief presentation of your consultancy explaining your suitability for the work and link to a portfolio of work (no more than one page); and
• UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment; applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

The above-mentioned documents should be merged in a standalone file including all of them, since the online application submission does only permit to upload one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.