Historique

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 European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) have embarked on a new, global, multi-year initiative focused on eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) - The Spotlight Initiative.

The Initiative is so named as it brings focused attention to this issue, moving it into the spotlight and placing it at the centre of efforts to achieve gender equality and women's empowerment, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Jamaica is one of five CARICOM Member States (the others being Belize, Grenada, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago) to receive support from the Spotlight Initiative. The vision of the Jamaica Spotlight Initiative (SI) is that the rights of women and girls to live free from violence are protected, promoted, and upheld. The impact that the SI will work towards achieving is that all women and girls, particularly those who are most vulnerable, live a life free of violence and harmful practices.

The key pillars of the Spotlight Initiative Include:

• Pillar 1: Laws and Policies
• Pillar 2: Institutional Capacities
• Pillar 3: Social Norms and Behaviours
• Pillar 4: Services
• Pillar 5: Data Availability and Utilisation
• Pillar 6: Women’s Rights Groups, Autonomous Social Movements and CSOs

UN Women is the Technical Lead for the Spotlight Initiative in Jamaica and also leads pillars 5 and 6. UNDP leads Pillars 1 and 2; UNICEF, Pillar 3; and UNFPA, Pillar 4.

UN Women, in its role as the lead agency for Pillar 5 on Data Availability and Utilization in the Spotlight Initiative in Jamaica, will be coordinating interagency initiatives to strengthen national capacities to collect, analyse and disseminate data on violence against women and girls and will be directly producing a number of critical knowledge products. One of these knowledge products is a secondary analysis of data from Jamaica Women’s Health Survey 2016 (WHS) and other population based surveys, such as the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), to further explore the experiences of violence (including consequences, risk and protective factors) of specific groups (for example young women and adolescents, women who have been pregnant, women with disabilities among others), associations of gender beliefs and norms with violence, and other issues (e.g. masculinity) that may be relevant for policy and programming.

Key findings from the WHS 2016: The WHS 2016 provided evidence that violence against women in Jamaica is widespread. However, at particular risk are women with either no or only a primary level of education, women who have been pregnant and women who began cohabiting with a male partner when they were minors. Notably there was an absence of statistically significant relationships across sociodemographic groups. Age, education, employment status, union status or living in rural or urban areas made no difference to the experience.

A multivariate analysis of WHS 2016 data confirmed that the highest risk in Jamaica, as in the other countries, were women aged 15-64 who are in relationships with men who have attitudes and behaviours that reinforce men’s dominant position over women and perpetuate gender inequality are more likely to have experienced both lifetime and current intimate partner violence (IPV). More specifically, women whose husbands/partners exhibited three or more controlling behaviours, got in a fight with another man, had extramarital or outside relationships with other women, and used recreational drugs at least once a week, were two times more likely to have experienced physical and/or sexual IPV in their lifetime. In addition, women who reported their husbands/partners engaged in extramarital or outside relationships with other women were nearly four times more likely to have experienced current IPV. It is also notable that women who reported their husbands got in a fight with another man were twice as likely to have experienced current IPV. In terms of relationship dynamics, findings suggest that frequent arguments among couples is associated with women’s risk of experiencing physical and/or sexual IPV in their lifetime. In particular, women who had frequent arguments with their husbands/partners were 17.5 times more likely to experience physical and/or sexual IPV in their lifetime, compared to women who never argued or quarrelled with their husbands/ partners. Bear in mind, arguments often precede IPV, but do not cause IPV. This finding demonstrates the need for programming for boys and men to develop skills for conflict resolution in intimate relationships that do not involve using violence. Early marriage was also identified as an important risk factor for experiencing current and lifetime physical and/or sexual IPV in Jamaica. Women whose first marriage or formalized union occurred at the age of 18 or younger were nearly two times rred at the age of 19 or older. It is also notable that women aged 15-24 were nearly 11 times more likely to experience physical and/or sexual IPV in the 12 months prior to the survey, compared to women age 65 and older. Similar to other Caribbean countries, witnessing domestic violence in childhood is an important risk factor for women’s experiences of physical and/or sexual IPV in adulthood.

UN Women, as the agency leading Pillar 5 on Data in the Spotlight Initiative (SI), is seeking to contract an experienced researcher on VAWG to undertake a secondary analysis of data from the WHS 2016 and MICS 2011 surveys for Jamaica. This secondary analysis will build on existing analysis in the survey reports; and also the Research Brief “Intimate Partner Violence in Five CARICOM Countries: Findings from National Prevalence Surveys on Violence against Women” which focuses on the causes and consequences of IPV, including risk factors associated with physical and/or sexual IPV at both the national and regional levels in Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. [1]

The secondary analysis of the data in the WHS 2016 and MICS 2011 has the following objectives:

• To further explore the data presented in the WHS 2016 and MICS 2011 on the following risk factors that have emerged as statistically significant and associated with physical and/or sexual violence:
  • Early marriage/early unions
  • Masculinity and controlling behaviour
  • Witnessing domestic violence in childhood
• To undertake an analysis of the data on the following factors that were not previously explored in detail:
  • Disability and risk of IPV
  • Bystanderism, community involvement and risk of IPV

[1] Research Brief - Intimate Partner Violence in Five CARICOM Countries | UN Women – Multi-Country Office – Caribbean

Devoirs et responsabilités

The Consultant will be responsible for producing the following deliverables:

DELIVERABLES

1. Research Workplan including timelines.
2. Methodology document outlining analytical approach to analysing the data from the WHS 2016 and MICS 2011.
3. First Draft of Research Paper.
4. Final Draft of Research Paper incorporating feedback received.
5. A power point presentation on the research incorporating feedback received.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Consultant will work under the overall supervision of the UN Women MCO-Caribbean Representative, with direct reporting to the UN Women Programme Specialist for Economic Empowerment and Statistics

Compétences

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/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies:

• Strong statistical analysis and social research and analytical skills.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills including the conveying complex concepts and recommendations, in a clear and persuasive style tailored to match different audiences.
• Ability to interact independently as part of a team.
• Ability to multi-task and operate effectively in stressful situations.

Qualifications et expériences requises

Experience:

• At least seven years conducting research and analysis on violence against women and children.
• At least ten years’ direct experience analysing micro-datasets from large household surveys.
• Proven experience with and ownership of statistical analysis software (e.g., SPSS, STATA) by providing evidence of an ownership license and a sample of work.
• Experience working in small island developing states of CARICOM or the Pacific is an asset, but not required.
• Proven experience with undertaking at least 1 large survey-based initiative that has produced gender statistics by providing a sample of work.

Languages:

• Fluency in written and oral English is required.

Education:

• A Master’s Degree in any of the following areas: Economics, Social Sciences, Statistics, Public Health, Gender and Development 

LOCATION AND DURATION

• The consultancy will be home-based (no travel is required/expected particularly given the COVID-19 pandemic).
• The consultant will be engaged for a maximum of 40 working days during the period 6 December 2021 – 31 March 2022.

REMUNERATION

• The consultancy fee will be negotiated before contracting. Each payment will be based on a predefined and formal agreement between UN Women and the consultant and will be disbursed based on satisfactory completion of agreed deliverables.

HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, AND COMMUNICATION:

• The consultant must be equipped with a fully functional laptop, which must run at least Windows 7. The consultant must be reasonably accessible by email and telephone (preferably mobile). The use of reliable, internet-based (Skype or equivalent) is required.

REFERENCES:

• Minimum of three client references that include the name of the contact person, title and contact information.

OTHER:

• Interviews will be conducted with the shortlisted applicants.
• The consultant contracted will be required to sign a statement of confidentiality and freedom from any conflict of interest with potential future contractors with respect to the TORs and work that they will be delivering.

Note:

Submissions to UNDP Jobs are limited to a maximum of 10 MB, virus-free or corrupted contents to avoid rejection, and no more than 1 email transmission.  

All applications must be submitted through UNDP jobs.  Please do not send applications to UN Women staff as they will not be accepted.