I. 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 Cambodia Country Office (CCO) Strategic Note (SN) 2019-2023 focuses on three key priorities to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE). The first priority is to strengthen government capacity and accountability to integrate international norms and commitments (CEDAW, SDGs, Beijing PfA, Sendai) into national legislative and regulatory frameworks, including supporting dialogue and CSO engagement in accountability for GEWE commitments. The second area of focus is Ending Violence Against Women where CCO’s focus includes creating an enabling environment to prevent, respond to and prosecute all forms of GBV as well as ensuring that marginalised women who experience violence, including women migrant workers, access services and protections. Thirdly, CCO works to enhance gender responsiveness in climate change action and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). A focus on empowerment, women’s leadership, challenging negative gender norms and leaving no one behind runs through the programme. In Cambodia, an estimated 1 in 5 women[1] report having experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime, and 4 percent of women report having experienced sexual violence by a non-partner after the age of 15.[2] The COVID 19 pandemic is increasing the risk for these already high rates of violence against women (VAW). Initially the direct impact of COVID-19 and the number of cases was low to date in numbers to date with indirect impacts increasing stressors on families due to impact to a downturn in key economic sectors, returning migrant workers (both nationally and internationally). However, in February 2021, community spread of COVID 19 began with an increase from about 500 identified cases to an estimated 128,000 in February 2022. This increased burden on the health and response systems, coupled with financial constraints, increased care burdens, and school closures, are increasing stress and women are at risk of higher levels of violence and putting strains on the already inadequate response systems. UN Women’s EVAW Programme in Cambodia is aligned with UN Joint Global Programme (JP)—the Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence (ESP). In 2019, as part of Phase II of the Joint Programme, under the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) leadership and with the support of UN Women, the third National Action Plan to Prevent Violence against Women 2019-2023 (3rd NAPVAW) was drafted. The 3rd NAPVAW was adopted by the councils of ministers in 2020 and launched in January 2021 with the overarching goal to reduce violence against all women and girls, including those at increased risk or with challenges in accessing services through increased prevention interventions, improved response, such as increased access to quality multi-sectoral services, and multi-sectoral coordination and cooperation. Four key areas have been identified as primary areas of focus:1) Prevention; 2) Legal Protection and Multi-Sectoral Services; 3) Formulation and Implementation of Laws and Policies; and 4) Review, Monitoring and Evaluation. UN Women Cambodia is currently implementing the ACCESS project title “Supporting Implementation of the 3rd NAPVAW in Cambodia” funded by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The project builds on the partnership with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA) which aims to improve MOWA capacity for implementing minimum service standards and informing laws that better prevent, respond to, and prosecute all forms of gender-based violence and to hold Technical Working Group on Gender – Gender-Based Violence (TWGG-GBV) members accountable for the coordinated implementation of the NAPVAW III at national, and subnational levels through improved planning, reporting, monitoring and evaluation processes. While the 2005 Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Protection of Victims (DV Law) marked an important advance in addressing violence against women in Cambodia, the reality is that many of its provisions have been found to fall short of international standards, compromising its effectiveness in providing protection to victims and in holding perpetrators accountable. Research has shown that in practice victims seeking redress have limited access to justice impacted by such factors as economic barriers and social norms that promote a tolerance of violence.[3] In the 3rd NAPVAW, the TWGG-GBV has prioritized a review of the DV Law to guide a strategy for its revision. This is included ensuring that the law and its implementation address the needs of marginalized groups or groups with challenges accessing services, such as women migrant workers, LGBTIQ women, ethnic minorities, women with disabilities, older women, and others marginalised by occupation. Initial steps have been taken to conduct internal analysis of the existing challenges; however, no clear path or strategy has been developed to guide the reform priorities. The planned action is in line with the CEDAW Concluding Observation (CEDAW COB) 9a, 9b related to improvement of the legislative framework and 25 b to “undertake a comprehensive review of the DV law and amends its provisions to define, prohibit and criminalise all forms of gender-based violence, including domestic violence and marital rape, to facilitate the process of obtaining protection orders and to ensure that victims/survivors of domestic violence have access to effective remedies and that perpetrators are held accountable.”[4] UN Women Cambodia is seeking the services of local consultant with EVAW and legal expertise to provide technical expertise and policy advice to the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and TWGG-GBV to develop the roadmap to reform the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of Victims. Under the direct supervision of the Country Programme Coordinator and working in close collaboration with MOWA and EVAW Programme team, the consultant will serve as a lead technical consultant ensuring the insights on identified priorities with key actions are capture and providing an outline with clear process required for reforming/amend the DV law. [1] aged 15-64 who have ever been in a relationship [2] National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Women’s Affairs, UN Women, World Health Organization (2015). National Survey on Women’s Health and Life Experiences Report. Phnom Penh. [3] K. Bricknell (2014). The Gap Between Legislation and Practice. London: Royal Holloway University of London. [4] Cambodian National Council for Women, UN Women (2019). 57 Concluding Observations on the sixth periodic report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in Cambodia.
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