Background

The purpose of this consultancy is to support the mid term review of the progress of the implementation of the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Women by the ASEAN Member States.

UN Women 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.

Assignment Background:

Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) remains a widespread violation of human rights in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, where between 6 % of women in Singapore to 34 % in Viet Nam and 44 % in Thailand have experienced physical and/ or sexual violence in their lives, according to available data.[1] Violence against women and girls occurs at home, in workplaces, in public spaces and online, and can culminate in femicide, the murder of women and girls. The World Health Organisation defines femicide as the intentional murder of women because they are women.[2] Globally, more than 1 in 2 women (58 per cent) killed were killed by their partners or family.[3]  Violence against women is rooted in gender inequality, discrimination and harmful cultural and social norms.

Violence directed against women has devastating physical, emotional, financial and social effects on women, children, families and communities. It negatively affects women’s sense of self-worth, their general well-being and overall quality of life. Violence has serious negative consequences ranging from immediate to long-term physical, psychological and mental health effects and sexual and reproductive problems. Being subjected to violence is associated with injury, disability, death, induced abortion, low birth weight and prematurity in babies, poor sexual health, suicide, depression, anxiety, and harmful alcohol use.[4] Violence affects their participation in education, employment, civic life and politics, and impedes their access and control over resources – increasing poverty and inequality.

The associated tremendous social and economic costs to survivors, communities, businesses and countries have been widely documented and reported. In Viet Nam, the persistence of domestic violence has resulted in an estimated loss of earnings equivalent to 3 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to a 2012 costing study.[5] In Viet Nam, direct costs of domestic violence represent 21 per cent of women’s monthly income and domestic violence survivors earn 35 per cent less than women not abused.[6] In Cambodia, 20 per cent of the women who experienced domestic violence reported that they missed work and their children missed school.[7]

Violence against women has worsened in the context of COVID-19. Data show that, since the outbreak of COVID-19, reports of violence against women, and particularly domestic violence, have increased in several countries as security, health, and money worries create tensions and strains accentuated by the cramped and confined living conditions of lockdown.

In 1976, the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) was established as a sectoral body to implement, coordinate and monitor the implementation of ASEAN’s regional priorities related to women’s issues at various levels of political, economic and social life. In 2004, the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) came together to produce the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the ASEAN Region, which was followed in 2013 by the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and the Elimination of Violence against Children. In 2010, the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) was established as an intergovernmental commission and an ASEAN human rights mechanism. In 2015, the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Women (ASEAN RPA on EVAW) was adopted and recognized that violence against women and girls (VAWG) is an “obstacle to the social and economic development of communities and states as well as the achievement of internationally agreed-upon development goals”. The ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Women (RPA), adopted in November 2015, ensures high-level political commitment to tackle the issue.[8]

The ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Women (ASEAN RPA on EVAW, 2016 – 2025) outlines ASEAN Member States’ obligations in realizing their goal of eliminating violence against women in the region and provides practical guidance in implementing the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Violence against Children in ASEAN. UN Women is cooperating with ASEAN to facilitate the mid term review of the progress of the implementation of the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Women by the ASEAN Member States

The ASEAN RPA on EVAW includes a provision to review the progress of the implementation of the plan after five years. During the MTR-Phase 1, undertaken in 2019, a desk review of the progress at regional and national levels was completed.

During the review of the MTR-Phase 2, a consultant will be recruited by UN Women, working in cooperation with ASEAN, to support consultations by the AMS, with the aim to validate the desk review findings and elaborate the MTR report.

[1] UN Women (2018). ASEAN Regional Guidelines on Violence against Women and Girls Data Collection and Use. Available from: http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2018/04/asean-regional-guidelines-on-violence-against-women-and-girls

[2] World Health Organization (2012). Femicide - Understanding and addressing violence against women. Available from: https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/rhr12_38/en/

[3] UNODC (2018). Global Study on Homicide - Gender-related killing of women and girls. Available from: https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/GSH2018/GSH18_Gender-related_killing_of_women_and_girls.pdf

[4] World Health Organization (2013), Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence, available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/85239/9789241564625_eng.pdf;jsessionid=8AF8AC7836F0A5AF46350DB1C567AD46?sequence=1

[5] UN Women (2012). Estimating the Costs of Domestic Violence against Women in Viet Nam. Available from: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2013/2/costing-study-viet-nam%20pdf.pdf?vs=1456

[6] UN Women (2013). The costs of violence, understanding the costs of violence against women and girls and its response: selected findings and lessons learned from Asia and the Pacific.

[7] UN Women (2013). The costs of violence, understanding the costs of violence against women and girls and its response: selected findings and lessons learned from Asia and the Pacific.

[8] ASEAN (2015). ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Women (ASEAN RPA on EVAW). Available from: https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/48.-December-2017-ASEAN-RPA-on-EVAW-2nd-Reprint.pdf

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work:

Key tasks include: 

1. Draft a guidance note  for national consultations by ASEAN Member States  to validate the desk review elaborated during Phase 1. Guidance note should include the consultation concept note, agenda, facilitation note, minute highlights note and reporting format.  
2. Facilitate any online consultations with AMS which decide not to organize face to face consultations (potentially around 7 sessions).
3. Based on the outcomes and reports of the national consultations, and building upon the Phase 1 desk review, draft the mid-term review of the ASEAN RPA on EVAW.
4.  Based on the mid-term review key recommendations, elaborate key actions for the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) and the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW)’s consideration to include in their Work Plans 2021-2025.

Competencies

Supervision

The consultant will be supervised by the UN Women EVAW Regional Programme Manager.

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

Functional Competencies

• Good analytical skills
• Good knowledge of violence against women

Required Skills and Experience

Eligibility criteria

• Master’s degree in the field of international development, law, gender studies, social sciences or other related areas.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in research and/or policy on gender or international relationships.  Experience of researching or working on gender and violence against women is essential.
• Experience working with ASEAN institutions is an asset.
• Knowledge of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
• Understanding of the social, cultural, and political context of ASEAN.
• Fluenct in English.

Submission of application

Interested candidates are encouraged to submit an electronic application to hr.bangkok@unwomen.org, with -cc to younghwa.choi@unwomen.org no later than 28 July 2020.

The Submission package includes:

• Updated CV
• Cover letter
• Samples of work (policy briefs, desk review, research, papers, articles)
• Personal History Form (P11 which can be downloaded from http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs)
• Financial proposal: the financial proposal shall specify a lump sum amount breaking down the professional fee for each deliverable.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

• THE UNDP APPLICATION SYSTEM ONLY ALLOWS 1 FILE TO BE ATTACHED.
• PLEASE KINDLY MAKE THE ABOVE LISTED DOCUMENTS INTO ONE FILE.
• CANDIDATES WITH AN INSUFFICIENT SUBMISSION PACKAGE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.