Background

UN Women is the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

UN Women focuses on priority areas that are fundamental to women’s equality, and that can unlock progress across the board. Its five focus areas include Ending Violence against Women, Economic Empowerment, Leadership and Participation, Peace and Security and National Planning and Budgeting. UN Women’s Multi Country Office (MCO), based in New Delhi, India, covers four countries of the region, i.e., Bhutan, India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka.

UN Women works on several fronts towards Ending Violence against Women and Girls. This includes tackling its main root: gender inequality. Efforts are multiplied through advocacy campaigns and partnerships with governments, civil society and the UN system. Initiatives range from working to establish legal frameworks and specific national actions, to supporting prevention at the grassroots level, including in conflict and post-conflict situations. UN Women has also supported data collection on violence against women, facilitating new learning on the issue.

Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread violations of human rights affecting more than one-third of all women globally. Over time, there is greater understanding of the causes, nature and severity of violence against women and a recognition of its impact both on economies and societies.  Much of the research evidence on what works to prevent violence emphasizes the role of the State as a provider of comprehensive prevention and response mechanisms to its citizens and ensure easy and effective access and delivery of justice.                         

Governments, non-government organisations and women’s rights movements and actors have adopted different approaches in three distinct, yet interrelated, areas: law and justice, provision of services and prevention of violence. In this context, multi-agency or multi-component response mechanisms to address Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) have emerged as recognized best practises. The 57th Session of the Commission on Status of Women (CSW) further stresses on the significance of an integrated, holistic response to violence advocating for “Women and girls who are survivors, to have access to a full range of multi-sectoral services and responses that respond to both their immediate and their long-term needs… It is important that these services work together to reduce the burden and impact on women and girls in the process of reporting, response and recovery, to avoid the re-victimization of survivors and to provide quality services”. Access to health services, legal aid, psychosocial counselling and support; 24-hour emergency hotline services, long-term economic and employment assistance and social reintegration support – have all proved to be essential elements of the multi-component response package.

Though the status of women in the state of Rajasthan, India, has improved considerably, yet, in recent times, crimes against women have been on the rise. Offences against women are being committed mostly in private spaces. Despite several efforts made by the government to curb crime against women and making Rajasthan a crime free state, the incidence of crimes against women is not reducing. An analysis of the situation indicated that a strong and comprehensive multi sectoral and multi-agency response and redressal mechanism was needed to prevent/ curb violence against girls and women.  Accordingly, the Government of Rajasthan started a scheme for establishing Mahila Salah Evam Suraksha Kendras (MSSK) in each police districts of the state in compliance of budget announcement in the FY 2010-11 and in 2013 launched India’s first One Stop Crisis Management Centre for Women “Aparajita”.

The objectives set forth for the MSSK are as follows: -

1. Providing support to women facing violence by way of:

• Assisting them to navigate through the Criminal Justice System;
• Settling disputes through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms;
• Facilitating rehabilitation to women survivors of violence.

(ii) Establishing Counselling, Advisory and Redressal Centres in forty police districts of Rajasthan;

(iii) Identifying and strengthening support groups for these centres in these districts and building their ownership towards the MSSKs in the districts;

(iv) Create support groups of various stakeholders to respond to the issue of violence against women;

(v) Provided requisite legal aid to women facing violence;

(vi)  Establish critical linkages for referral services to women facing violence in some of the selected districts;

(vii) Build a resource unit at the state level to provide research, documentation and training inputs to the district MSSK.

Currently there are 40 MSSKs in Rajasthan to safeguard the interests of women across the State. They are operated through reputed registered Non-Government Organizations to ensure holistic redressal of grievances and act as service providers to ensure safety and security of the aggrieved women. They also help the protection officer of the district to file Daily Incidence Report (DIR) in cases of Domestic Violence.

Similarly, the One Stop Crisis Management Centre for Women (OSCMCW)-Aparajita looks at providing medical, legal, police, counselling and rehabilitation to women in crisis. It was setup in August, 2013. It is located in the premises of Jaipuria hospital, Jaipur. Aparajita is the first initiative of its kind in India which provides 24 hours services, including comprehensive medical care, legal services, police assistance, counselling and temporary shelter to the harassed women at one place.

This document outlines the Terms of Reference for an Impact Assessment (IA) of both models, MSSK and Aparajita Centre, and the Assessment will be situated in the work done under the Directorate of Women Empowerment, Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Rajasthan and facilitated by UN Women.

The Purpose:

The main purpose of the IA is to provide a well-researched and documented overview of the MSSK and Aparajita models and its impact on enhancing women’s access to response services, including the documentation of unintended impact, if any. This would include, inter alia, the design and implementation of MSSK and Aparajita towards identifying and responding to VAWG.  This assessment is expected to help in the following:

• Review the existing models, services and approaches employed by the MSSK and Aparajita.
• Responsiveness and effectiveness of the existing services to the diverse needs of women and in responding to multi-dimensional manifestation of violence.
• Accessibility of existing services for women and girls especially from rural and remote areas.
• Identifying, analyzing and documenting the factors that influence women’s access to MSSK and Aparajita.
• Communicating achievements and capturing long terms successes in a way that informs stakeholders to adopt/up-scale similar initiatives.
• Generating information and perspectives of change so that various stakeholders can learn from the relationships/ processes involved and adapt their interventions accordingly
• Generating data and analysis to inform policies, develop new strategies, improve existing interventions and/or strengthen advocacy initiatives on EVAWG.

The IA is therefore expected to inform and feed into national and state processes of converting MSSKs into Aparajita and setting up One Stop Centre to respond to VAWG, and should therefore highlight scalable strategies, tools, techniques and approaches.

The main users of the Learning Document will be:

• All state and non-state actors including, the Government, Non-government, Academic Research civil society organizations working on the issue of violence against women in India and elsewhere, with the prior permission/approval of the Directorate of Women Empowerment, Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Rajasthan.
• UN Women programme staff, UN agencies and partners.

Duties and Responsibilities

Context :

UN Women India MCO has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Rajasthan for assisting the Government in furthering gender equality and women empowerment in the State. UN Women seeks to hire a consulting agency/consultant to undertake the Impact Assessment (IA) of the MSSK and Aparajita centre.

There are 40 MSSKs in Rajasthan to safeguard the interests of women across the State. They are operated by reputed registered Non-Government Organizations with an understanding to ensure holistic redressal of grievances. 

The key partners include:

• Directorate of Women Empowerment, Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Rajasthan;
• UN Women.

Details of the Assessment Process:

The objectives of the Assessment are:

• To document the impact of MSSK and Aparajita Centre, while identifying impediments and enabling factors in the current approaches/models towards enhancing women’s access to response and  redressal services to VAWG; and highlighting patterns and trends, if any, in the nature of issues addressed.
• To present learnings and recommendations to critical actors, including the Government, UN and Civil Society on Community Based initiatives towards EVAWG.

Scope of the Assessment:

Time Frame: December 2016 to March 2017

Potential Assessment Questions:

• That is the appropriateness of the multi-component response package of interventions in MSSK and Aparajita Centre within the specific legal, health and social context?
• How much does it cost to access such interventions/services from the perspective of the victims/survivors?
• How do women from the community gain information on these Centres? What are the communication touchpoints?
• Are these services accessible to the poorest and most vulnerable groups of women?
• What is the level of utilisation (also highlight the trends and nature of issues) of services provided through a multi component response package?
• What are the changes that can be attributed to the MSSK and Aparajita Centre, in the way women access specific legal, health and social services?
• What are the learnings (model specific) for local, state and national governments in strengthening the governance structures and infrastructure to fully respond to VAWG?
• Demonstrate and gather evidence on the actual increase in capacity of women in positively impacting their immediate surroundings:
  • Specifically are there any changes in behaviour, positive or negative towards accessing the services of MSSK and Aparajita.
  • Are these changes at the level of individuals, institutions (households/ community/ panchayats) and/or larger Governmental and other systems?
• What capacity building tools and approaches have worked best? What tools and approaches did not work well?

Methodology:

The IA will be managed by a lead researcher. The researcher will apply diverse methods, take into consideration different perspectives, and work with diverse sources of information and stakeholders. In line with the broad objectives of the study, data collection and sharing of the analysis will be participatory.

The IA methodology should:

• Clearly outline the study design, specifying the approach to addressing the purposes of the study and the study questions.
• Outline the qualitative and quantitative instruments and methods for collecting the needed information (e.g. interviews, observations, focus groups, literature, surveys, ratings, knowledge tests, site visits, real-life case studies etc.) including the sample of key informants to be interviewed; preferably, systems approaches such as appreciative inquiry and outcome mapping will be applied.
• Throughout the period of the IA, the researcher will liaise closely with the UN Women Monitoring and Evaluation Unit and the Ending Violence against Women unit The researcher can raise or discuss any issue or topic they deem necessary to fulfil the tasks.  The researcher, however, is not authorized to make any commitments to any party on behalf of UN Women.

Study Plan:

• The IA will be conducted from December 2016 to March2017.

  The outline of a tentative plan is presented below. It will need to be adapted and refined by the researcher in close co-operation with the UN Women team. Throughout the IA the researcher will observe the UN ethical guidelines for Study.

Phase1 : Inception:

• Time: Up to early December 2016.

  The purpose of this 1st phase is to review existing documentation both within UN Women as well as with participating partners to get an overview and define the broad contours of the study. Methods used may also include an e-mail mini-survey, and telephone or Skype interviews with key stakeholders and review of other relevant literature.

  Towards the end of the 1st phase, the researcher will present provisional findings and suggest and approach to answer the study questions. Based on these findings, a precise work-plan will be prepared in close consultation with the UN Women MCO.

Phase 2 : Participatory data collection and Analysis:

Time: Mid-December 2016 to End - January 2017

The 2nd phase serves two purposes: (1) gathering and analysing additional data to address the IA questions, and (2) facilitating joint learning with key UN Women partners and key UN Women staff.

The activities to be carried out in this phase may include:

• Telephone/ skype and face-to-face interviews with a range of stakeholders at various levels, within and beyond the programme
• Focus group discussions and other small group activities with a range of stakeholders
• Study of further documentation
• Debriefing with the UN Women MCO

A precise plan for phase 2 field work will be prepared upon completion of the inception phase.

This plan may be adjusted in close co-operation with the UN Women MCO.

Phase 3 : Data Analysis and Report Writing:

Time: Mid-February 2017

Upon completion of the field work, the researcher will analyse the data gathered and obtain more information as needed, e.g. through further telephone interviews and study of additional documentation.

The researcher will present an advanced draft Study report to the UN Women MCO by 20 February 2017. 

Phase 4 : Assessment Report:

Time: 10 March 2017

The researcher will finalise the Assessment report within 2 weeks upon receipt of UN Women comments.

The main body of the report will not exceed 30 pages. In addition, it will include a table of contents, an executive summary that can be used as a document in its own right, and annexes (e.g. TOR, list of interviewees, interview guides or questionnaires, itinerary, lists of abbreviations and of documents consulted).  

The following deliverables are expected as a result of the IA.

Deliverables:

Deliverable 1: Inception Report: Time Period - Week 2:

The Inception Report will detail the preliminary approach to the IA, study tools to be used and the IA framework. The Inception report will be used to confirm a common understanding of the purpose, objectives, scope, timescales, and methodology for the IA. It will include:

• Overview of the IA, purpose and objectives
• Team - Roles and Responsibilities
• Assessment Framework and Methodology
• Information Collection and Analysis
• Work Scheduling – including Reporting timelines

At the time of the Inception Report, the researcher will present a Power Point detailing the salient features of the IA that s/he will be sharing with key stakeholders during the Assessment.

Deliverable 2  - Field Work (including interviews, field visits in various locations) Time Period – Week 3 - 8

Deliverable 3 - Draft Final Report : Time Period – Week 12 

At the end of Week 10, the researcher will submit the draft IA report to UN Women in the structure specified below.  The outline and main finding of the IA should be completed and handed to UN Women during the final de-briefing session. 

The second Power Point is expected from the researcher during the presentation of the Draft Final Report at the end of the Assessment Period.

Deliverable 4 - Final Assessment Report :Time Period – Week 14

Based on the spoken and written comments of the stakeholders during the de-briefing and subsequently, the researcher will finalize and submit the final version of the report to UN Women, New Delhi within ten days of receipt of comments.

The length of the report should not exceed 50 pages, excluding Annexes. While the researcher is free to use any detailed method of reporting, the IA Report should contain at least the following:

• Title Page 
• List of acronyms and abbreviations
• Table of contents, including list of annexes
• Executive Summary
• Introduction: background and context of the study
• Purpose of the Assessment
• Key questions and scope of study with information on limitations and de-limitations
• Approach and methodology
• Findings
• Summary and explanation of findings and interpretations
• Conclusions 
• Recommendations 
• Lessons, generalizations, alternatives
• Suggestions for similar programmes on EVAWG

In the Final Report, the researcher is expected to provide details in respect of:

• Documents reviewed;
• Interviews;
• Field visits;
• Questionnaires, if any;
• Participatory techniques and other approaches for gathering and analysis of data; and
• Participation of stakeholders and/or partners.

In addition, the final report should contain the following annexes:

• Terms of Reference for the study
• Itinerary (actual)
• List of meetings attended
• List of persons interviewed
• List of documents reviewed
• Any other relevant material

Competencies

Core Values / Guiding Principles:

Integrity:

• Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

• Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

• Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organisation and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

• Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organisational Awareness:

• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Work in teams:

• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

• Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

• Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behaviour towards others.

Conflict Management:

• Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

• Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Functional Competencies:

• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
• Focuses on impact and result for the partners and responds positively to feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Post-graduate degree in social sciences, international development or relevant field.

Experience:

• Minimum 10 years of experience in development, with specialisation in gender, social development and women’s rights.
• Significant knowledge and experience of study concepts and approaches on EVAWG;
• Recent experience with gender equality issues and knowledge of mainstreaming gender equality into policies/programming/development;
• Sound understanding of human rights based approaches;
• Consultancy experience in India, specially Rajasthan;
• Facilitation skills, particularly design of qualitative and stakeholder consultations;
• Strong quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis skills;
• Excellent analytical skills and communication skills;
• Demonstrated writing skills in English;

Language:

• Excellent communication skills in English, Hindi, and other relevant local languages

Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

·        All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment;

·        Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment;

·        Applications received after the close date will not be accepted;

·        Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

The Applications should include the technical proposal :

• Detailed methodology
• Previous experience in a similar capacity
• Experience working with UN agencies or other international organizations
• Skills and competencies related to the assignment
• Availability

The financial proposal should include:

• Fees - The financial proposal shall specify the consultancy fees and all costs (printing, stationary, telephone, internet etc.) in relation to the scope of work of the consultancy.
• Travel - All envisaged travel costs (local travel, living allowance, terminal expenses etc.) must be included in the financial proposal. UN Women will not accept travel costs exceeding those of an economy class ticket.
• In the case of unforeseeable travel, payment of travel costs including tickets, lodging and terminal expenses shall be agreed upon, between UN Women and Individual Consultant, prior to travel and will be reimbursed.

The financial offer will be required at a later stage once the evaluation of the technical proposal is complete. The individuals who achieve the maximum score in technical evaluation will be requested to provide the financial proposal. Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 70% in the technical evaluation will be considered for the financial evaluation. 

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.