Background

Millions of women and girls worldwide suffer from some form of gender-based violence and harmful practices, be it domestic violence, rape, female genital mutilation/cutting, dowry-related killing, trafficking, sexual violence in conflict-related situations, son preference and the undervaluing of daughters, or other manifestations of abuse. In fact, for women and girls aged 16-44, gender-based violence is a major cause of death and disability . Up to 70 per cent  of women experience violence in their lifetime. Violence against women persists in every country in the world as a pervasive violation of human rights and a major impediment to achieving gender equality. Such violence is unacceptable, whether perpetrated by the State and its agents or by family members or strangers, in the public or private sphere, in peacetime or in times of conflict.

In Georgia, current research points to widespread experiences of violence against women across the country. According to the 2020 UNDP and UNFPA joint study Men, Women, and Gender Relations in Georgia: Public Perceptions and Attitudes 52.5% of men believe that violence between husband and wife is a private matter and others should not intervene . Intimate partner violence, as well as early and forced marriage, are among the most prevalent forms of violence against women in Georgia. These types of violence cut across all divisions of income, culture, and class. Despite its scale and socioeconomic impact, violence against women remains largely underreported and under-researched in key areas. The same study showed that 33% men agreed that in some cases, women want to be raped, and that a woman’s reputation would have to be questioned in any rape case. Importantly, half of all men and 30 percent of women still define rape in terms of women physically fighting back, ignoring fear and other forms of coercion often used in the context of sexual violence.

UN Women has supported national partners in Georgia to end violence against women and girls and domestic violence (VAWG/DV) since 2010. Throughout the past decade, technical assistance has been provided to the Government of Georgia to align national legislation and policies with the relevant international legal frameworks and standards. To enhance implementation of the laws and policies, UN Women Georgia has supported the establishment of specialized services for survivors of domestic violence, such as the first state-run shelters, crisis centres and hotlines and rehabilitation programmes for perpetrators.

Furthermore, UN Women has worked with the Government in developing the institutional and individual capacities of key service providers in the area of VAWG/DV. In order to continue supporting national partners in Georgia to end VAWG/DV, under EVAWG Programme, UN Women aims to support relevant state agencies, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and the Chief Prosecutor's Office of Georgia (CPOG) and other service providers, like Legal Aid Service (LAS) to VAWG/DV survivors to strengthen their capacity and to ensure efficient response to VAWG/DV cases and sexual crimes. UN Women also strives to support prevention and disclosure of the instances of VAWG through various initiatives aimed at raising awareness on VAW/DV issues in the general public.

The importance of increasing awareness and understanding among the general public and professionals on different forms of manifestations of violence against women their causes and consequence was underlined by Ms. Dubravka Šimonovic, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, in her 2016 country report for Georgia. 

For this purpose, UN Women will recruit a National Consultant(s) – psychologist responsible for engaging with relevant state and non-state stakeholders. .

Equipping different professionals playing a crucial role in preventing and combating violence against women with knowledge and understanding of psychological aspects of VAWG/DV phenomenon, its peculiarities and dire consequences will facilitate avoiding re-victimization of survivors and their better protection due to increased sensitivity towards the topic. The aforesaid can subsequently instill a sense of trust in victims/survivors in relevant professionals/institutions and result in increased disclosure of VAWG/DV incidents to relevant institutions.

Increasing awareness of the general public and different target groups inter alia on psychosocial causes and consequences and psychological aspects of violence can also be instrumental in the prevention of VAW/DV. The psychological effects experienced by victims are very similar to those experienced by victims of kidnapping. Post-traumatic stress disorder and Stockholm syndrome symptoms are also very common, and the psychological consequences of violence can be as serious as the physical effects as among others it can trigger depression, suicide attempts, psychotic episodes, slow recovery from mental illness.  Increased knowledge on the topic can facilitate dismantling the commonly held victim-blaming beliefs that make women responsible for their own safety and for the violence they suffer as required by CEDAW General recommendation No. 35 on gender-based violence against women. Moreover, conducting awareness raising activities to increase awareness and understanding among the general public of the different manifestations of all forms of violence,  their consequences on children and the need to prevent such violence, as well as training for the relevant professionals dealing with victims or perpetrators of all acts of violence and including teaching materials on gender equality and gender-based violence against women in formal curricula and at all levels of education is of utmost importance for preventing VAW/DV as referred by the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention). Furthermore, GREVIO’s (Baseline) Evaluation Report on Georgia also urges Georgian Authorities to continue awareness raising activities on different forms of violence, as well as reinforce trainings for relevant professionals, including representatives of justice sector, as well as social workers and to promote mainstreaming gender equality issues, including information on GBV in all levels of formal and informal educational system. Finally, awareness raising activities on GBV and capacity development of professionals on effective response to VAW/DV and quality service provision for survivors of such violence are substantive parts of the National Action Plan  on Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and Measures to be Implemented for the Protection of Victims (Survivors) for 2022-2024 .

In light of the above considerations, UN Women plans to recruit a psychologists and psychotherapists to assist different professionals inter alia investigators, prosecutors, judges, lawyers, employees of the State Care Agency and educational sector in elaborating guidance documents on psychological aspects of VAWG/DV as relevant to the sectors/professionals in question. In order to increase effectiveness of the work carried out by different professionals the same psychologists should  conduct trainings on psychological aspects of VAWG/DV aimed at increasing their sensitivity and thus fostering the application of the victim-centered approach. Finally, the psychologists are required to participate in meetings aimed at raising awareness of different target groups inter alia representatives of ethnic minorities and private companies on psychological aspects of VAW/DV and its causes and consequences.  

Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of the National Consultant are:

• To develop a detailed work plan for the assignment/s;
• To produce a training needs assessment questionnaire and conduct an online or face-to-face needs assessment of the training participants (as needed);
• To elaborate guidance documents on psychological aspects of VAWG/DV for different professionals inter alia psychologists, investigators, prosecutors, judges, lawyers, employees of the State Care Agency and NGO run VAW/DV crisis centres and educational sector as necessary;
• To develop a detailed agenda and modules, presentations and relevant training materials;
• To carry out post-training assessment questionnaire with the training participants – in line with UN Women Georgia Country Office’s relevant templates;
• To develop and conduct analysis of pre and post-training assessments;
• To conduct training sessions for different professionals- psychologists, investigators, judges, prosecutors or other professionals as necessary and elaborate respective reports regarding the conducted training;
• To carry out supervision of employees of NGO run VAW/DV crisis centres (as needed) for professional guidance and burnout prevention;
• To conduct  information meetings with different target groups inter alia ethnic minorities, representatives of private companies on psychological aspects of VAW/DV and submit the respective reports regarding the conducted meetings to UN Women;
• To draft and submit a final report summarizing the work performed and any recommendations for future capacity development interventions as relevant.

Deliverables:

1. A detailed work plan for the assignment/s submitted to UN Women;

2. Training needs assessment questionnaire developed, assessment conducted and analyzed (as required by UN Women);

3. Guidance documents on psychological aspects of VAWG/DV as relevant to the sectors/professionals inter alia investigators, prosecutors, judges, lawyers, employees of the State Care Agency NGO run VAW/DV crisis centres and educational sector elaborated;

4. Detailed agenda and modules, presentations and relevant training materials, including pre and post-training tests;

5. Pre and post-training tests conducted and analyzed;

6. Training sessions for different professionals-investigators, judges, prosecutors or other professionals conducted;

7. Supervision of employees of NGO run VAW/DV crisis centres (as needed) for professional guidance and burnout prevention carried out;

8. Meetings with different target groups inter alia ethnic minorities, representatives of private companies on psychological aspects of VAW/DV conducted;

9. The final training report in English, outlining the training process, results of the pre-and post-training assessments and recommendations for follow up actions, including on further capacity development needs of the participants written and submitted to UN Women within 3 working days from the training.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

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/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• At least Master’s degree in Medicine with specialization in psychotherapy/psychology.

Experience:

• At least five years of professional experience in psychotherapy/phycology;
• At least two years of experience in conducting trainings on DV, sexual violence issues;
• Past experience of work in an international environment will be an asset.

Language:

• Georgian (native);
• English (fluent).

Evaluation Procedure:

The candidates will be evaluated in three stages: according to minimum qualification criteria; technical and financial evaluation.

The candidates must possess following minimum qualification criteria to be eligible for further technical evaluation:

• At least Master’s degree in Medicine with specialization in psychotherapy/psychology.
• At least five years of professional experience in psychotherapy/psychology
• At least two years of experience in conducting training on DV, sexual violence issues.

Technical evaluation criteria (including minimum qualifications):

• Master’s degree in Medicine with specialization in psychotherapy/psychology (max 50 points);
• At least five years of professional experience in psychotherapy/psychology (max 150 points);
• At least two years of experience in conducting training on DV, sexual violence issues (max 100 points);
• Past experience of work in an international environment (max 20 points).
• Fluency in Georgian and English (max 30 points).

Maximum total technical score amounts to 350 points. Only candidates who have passed over the minimum qualification criteria and have accumulated at least 245 points out of maximum 350 under technical evaluation will qualify for the next stage i.e. evaluation of their financial proposals.

Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 150

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 consideration.

The winning candidate will be the candidate, who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical scoring + financial scoring).

Management arrangements:

The consultant will report to and work under direct supervision of UN Women Programme Analyst under the overall guidance of UN Women Georgia Country and Deputy Country Representatives.

Financial arrangements:

For each training, the payment will be disbursed upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by UN Women that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

Application submission package:

• CV;
• Duly filled Personal History Form PHF11 that can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• Financial Proposal - lump sum proposal/offer* in GEL (including breakdown of this lump sum amount, indicating all necessary costs to complete this assignment). Eventual travel costs will be covered by UN Women.

*The applicants are required to submit an aggregated financial offer: “aggregated financial offer” is the total sum of all financial claims of the candidate for accomplishment of all tasks spelled out in this ToR. Travel costs (ticket, DSA etc.)  should not be included and will be paid for separately by UN Women.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

How to Submit the Application:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)- https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), CV, samples of previous work and the Financial Proposal into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded.
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement).
• Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application;'
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above).
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Notes:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need. 

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application. 

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.  All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)