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 Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECA RO) was established in Istanbul, Turkey in early 2014. It provides support and oversight to Country Offices in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Ukraine. In addition, the Regional Office directly supports programme and project presence in Kosovo (under UN Security Council Resolution 1244), Serbia, the Republic of North Macedonia, Tajikistan and Turkey. Since 2018, UN Women ECA RO is implementing a Flagship Programme Initiative (FPI): Making Every Woman and Girl Count: Supporting the monitoring and implementation of the SDGs through better production and use of gender statistics (MEWGC), developed by UN Women Headquarters (HQ), that aims to affect a radical shift in the production, availability, accessibility and use of quality data and statistics on key aspects of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

In 2017-2018 UN Women supported a number of studies in ECA region. They include VAW prevalence studies, analysis of good practices to respond to VAW, costing of VAW, Public Perceptions of Gender Equality and Violence against Women, etc. the final reports and publications on all studies are available at

https://eca.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications?topic=ed83b18f66fc4382a40456012eae9e48

In 2018, UN Women ECA Regional Office in cooperation with other UN agencies and development partners, supported OSCE to commission a Survey on the Well-being and Safety of Women, which covered Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine. The research was also conducted in Kosovo (All references to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text should be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244). The OSCE-led survey included a quantitative and qualitative component and was undertaken with the goal of providing comparable data on different forms of violence women experience in their childhood and throughout the course of their lives. The survey examined violence that women experience in conflict and non-conflict settings, as well as the impact violence has on women, including its lasting consequences. Questions on norms and attitudes connected to violence against women were asked to better understand the underlying causes of violence.

Findings of studies and assessments clearly demonstrated a links between gender stereotypes and stereotyping and gender-based violence. As an example, gender stereotyping doesn’t allow to criminalize marital rape, to effectively investigate, prosecute and sentence sexual violence against women based on, e.g., the stereotype that women should protect themselves from sexual violence by dressing and behaving modestly. As OHCHR stated, “gender stereotypes compounded and intersecting with other stereotypes have a disproportionate negative impact on certain groups of women, such as women from minority or indigenous groups, women with disabilities, women from lower caste groups or with lower economic status, migrant women, etc.” (https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/WRGS/Pages/GenderStereotypes.aspx)

Gender stereotyping is a serious contributing factor in violations of a vast array of rights such as the right to health, education, marriage and family relations, work, freedom of expression, freedom of movement, political participation and representation, effective remedy, as well as freedom from gender-based violence.

UN Women ECA RO intends to use findings of the studies and assessments conducted in ECA region in 2017-2019 to develop a Discussion Series Paper “Gender stereotyping and VAW in ECA region – what do the data say”. It will be used further for evidence-based policy discussions and advocacy to lobby for the transformative changes in regard of protection of women and girls from violence.

Goal and objectives:

The objective of this assignment is to develop a . The paper should include summary analysis of relations between social norms and gender stereotypes and violence against women and girls as risk-factors for experiencing violence during lifetime, as well as the impact of stereotypes on women’s behavior, reporting violence and seeking for support. It should present key policy related actions and recommendations for a wide range partners to address and efficiently respond to VAW.

UN Women will share all available studies, analytical documents and data set to use for development of Discussion Series Paper. The paper has to follow UN Women corporate approach (examples of papers are available at https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2015/7/discussion-papers-series) and should not exceed 35 pages.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct guidance of UN Women ECA RO Gender Statistics Specialist the International Consultant will develop Discussion Series Paper and her/his tasks will include, but will not be limited to the following:

• Compile, analyze findings and data generated by studies/assessment to draft a summary paper;
• Compile and present key data from studies in a user-friendly format to support the analysis as clear evidences and facts;  
• Compile all policy related recommendations and observations to suggest as a consolidated package of actions in a structured way covering expected roles/responsibilities of key development actors;
• Discuss draft paper with UN Women ECA RO Gender Statistics Specialist.

Expected deliverables

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: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Required Skills and Experience

Qualifications Education:

• Advanced (Masters) degree in sociology, social or political sciences or field relevant to the requirements of the TOR.

Experience:

• 5 years of relevant experience in research and data analysis on gender issues;
• Experience in working in the areas of human rights and gender analysis;
• Experience on conducting studies/assessments/analytical papers on EVAW;
• Experience of work with the issue of violence against women and gender equality in broader sense in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia is an asset;
• Previous professional experience with development agencies and/or the United Nations is an asset.

Languages and other skills:

• Proficient in written and oral English;
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use computers, including advance Excel skills,  knowledge of related analytical software (SPSS, Stata etc.) is desirable
• Excellent communication, writing and analytical skills to develop  complex research paper/reports.

 Application Process 

The application should include:

• Personal History Form (P-11 form) - including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment , a signed copy should be submitted;
• Financial Proposal: Specify a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (per deliverables); 
• Candidates should have the ability to quickly produce degree certificates and medical certification (of good health) should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy post.

Management and financial arrangements

The contractor will report to and work under direct supervision of UN Women ECA RO Gender Statisticians Specialist.

Payment will be disbursed in two installments upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by UN Women ECA RO that the services have been satisfactorily performed as specified below:

• Deliverables 1 and 2 – 50% of contract amount
• Deliverable 3 – 50% of contract amount

Travel-related costs will be covered separately.

Evaluation process

Consultants will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of qualifications and financial proposal.

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

• University degree in sociology, social or political sciences or relevant field to the requirements of the TOR
• Proven experience in research and data analysis; 
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use computers, including advance Excel skills and and/or knowledge of related analytical software (SPSS, Stata etc.) and standard applications for concise communication and development of complex written documentation;
• Fluency in English (speaking and writing)

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.