أنت هنا

TERMS OF REFERENCE: CONSULTANT

FOR THE STUDY ON GENDER BASED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN and GIRLS WITH DISABILITIES IN LEBANON

 

TERMS OF REFERENCE (to be completed by Hiring Office)

Hiring Office:

UNFPA Lebanon Country Office

Purpose of consultancy:

Violence against persons with disabilities in general is a widely spread phenomenon. Millions of persons with disabilities worldwide suffer from physical, social, economic, cultural and legal barriers that limit their access to education, healthcare, including sexual and reproductive health, employment, care and protection systems, and put them at a greater risk of living in poverty and make them more vulnerable to violence, including GBV (UNFPA, 2018)[i].

Women and girls with disabilities encounter persisting challenges due to discrimination, marginalization, social exclusion, stigmatization and routine failure to ensure their social inclusion and effective participation in public life. They live in more stringent social hardship, compared to men with disabilities and women without disabilities. There is a sort of agreement between the different stakeholders and many international reports and literature on violence, indicating that women and girls with disabilities are more vulnerable to violence compared to men with disabilities women in general. This is corroborated by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its optional protocol, which recognizes in its Preamble (17) “that women and girls with disabilities are often at greater risk, both within and outside the home, of violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation”[ii].

The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda also called upon all states to recognize the rights of persons with disabilities on equal grounds with their peers and seek to end violence against all girls and women, including women with disabilities. Goal 10 in particular seeks to reduce inequalities and empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex or disability[iii].

Lebanon is facing an unprecedented multidimensional political, economic, social, and security crisis. All these factors aggravated the vulnerabilities of people, including people with disabilities. In Lebanon, data on gender-based violence (GBV) against women and girls with disabilities are largely lacking, making it difficult to assess the prevalence of this violence, its forms, levels and determinants, such as what types of disability are more subjected to GBV, who the perpetrators are, in which geographic locations, among others. Nevertheless, the different stakeholders agree that GBV against women and girls with disabilities is more prevalent, compared to GBV against men and women without disabilities.

In a recent situation analysis that was conducted by the Ministry of Social Affairs with support from UNFPA and ESCWA, women and girls with disabilities face three-dimensional discrimination since they are females, have a disability, and are the poorest among the poor. Women and girls with disabilities are often at greater risk of violence, abuse, persecution, neglect, and/or exploitation. The high rate of unemployment, low salaries, difficulty in obtaining medical care, scarcity of educational opportunities, lack or lack of access to services and programs directed at women, and the increased risk of suffering from physical and sexual persecution, are all social aspects that women with physical or mental disabilities must face. This pervasive and deep-rooted discrimination that women have suffered and is difficult to confront affects many aspects of their lives such as education, work, marriage, family, economic status and rehabilitation. Despite the fact that Lebanon have adopted the 220/2000 law on the rights of the persons with disabilities; there has never been any executive decrees that would ensure its implementation.

The overall objective of this assignment is to: 1)Analyze the context of GBV against women and girls with disabilities in Lebanon through mapping the available services; analyzing major gaps and challenges related to service delivery; identifying roles and responsibilities of stakeholders and service providers, including stakeholder coordination, legislation and policies, capacity, prevention and response services, the referral process and accountability; 2)make recommendations and propose interventions to enhance the protection system for women and girls with disabilities in Lebanon, taking into consideration the complexity of the multi-layered crisis which resulted into increased GBV vulnerabilities on Women and Girls with disabilities, the refugee population, migrants, LGBTIQ, the poorest of the poor, and female heads of households  

Scope of work:

 

(Description of services, activities, or outputs)

Based on the above and under the overall guidance of UNFPA Lebanon country office, the expert will be undertaking the following duties:

Working in close coordination with UNFPA, the consultant is expected to do the following:

  1. Carry out an inception meeting to ensure clear understanding of the TORs with key milestones and deliverables.
  2. Conduct a desk review of all available literature and studies at the international and local levels, in addition to international conventions and treaties related to women and the rights of persons with disabilities, Lebanese laws and legislations related to disability rights, the penal code, operating procedures and internal policy guidance of a number of service providers, as well as a review of certain programs and policies related to disability and violence.
  3. Map service providers and GBV interventions that include people with disabilities
  4. Conduct 15 consultations (i.e., FGDs, KIIs, meetings) with different stakeholders such as public entities, local and international NGOs providing services in the field of GBV and disability in particular, UN agencies to assess services offered to women and girls with disabilities who are survivors of GBV and identify major challenges and gaps in service delivery according to the following criteria: availability of service, accessibility, beneficiary satisfaction, and quality of service delivery.
  5. Make recommendations and propose interventions to promote prevention, address violence and respond to the needs of women and girls with disabilities who are exposed to the different forms of GBV.
  6. Summarize Findings and Recommendations in a draft Report
  7. Finalize report based on UNFPA feedback
  8. Present the findings in a technical meeting

Duration and working schedule:

December 1, 2021- February 15, 2022

Place where services are to be delivered:

Tasks can be performed remotely

Delivery dates and how work will be delivered (e.g. electronic, hard copy etc.):

Milestones

Deliverables

Language

Timeline

% remuneration

-Carry our desk review

- Collect information for the mapping

Develop mapping report

-Desk Review Report

-Mapping report

 

English

31 December 2021

50%

-Conduct 15 consultations (i.e., FGDs, KIIs, meetings) with different stakeholders

- Prepare final report including UNFPA feedback

-Summary of key findings

-Final report

English

Feb 15, 2022

50%

 

Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline:

Final Report to be submitted at the end of the consultancy

Supervisory arrangements:

The consultant reports to the GBV Specialist

Expected travel:

Tasks can be performed remotely

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements:

The Consultant should fulfill the following requirements:

  1. Education: Master’s degree in Public Administration, Social Sciences, Public Health, Gender Studies and Inclusion, Development Studies, or other relevant field.
  2. Experience:
  • 8-10 years of experience in research (both quantitative and qualitative).
  • Familiarity and strong experience required with gender equality, disability, inclusion, and prevention and response to GBV.
  • Experience in conducting mappings and developing policy briefs.
  • Demonstrated organizational skills, including the ability to work independently and productively, with multiple stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.
  • Experience with governmental and non-governmental entities is essential
  • Familiarity with UN work is desirable.
  • Fluency in oral and written English is essential, Knowledge of Arabic is a plus

Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g support services, office space, equipment), if applicable:

NA

Other relevant information or special conditions, if any:

Please send your CV and Cover Letter to bids_lbn@unfpa.org

 

 

Signature of Requesting Officer in Hiring Office: Nicia El Dannawi

 

Date: 11/11/2021

 

 

 

[i] Young Persons with Disabilities: Global Study on Ending Gender-Based Violence, and Realising Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, UNFPA, July 2018. 

[ii] Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, art. 1, G.A. Res. 61/106, U.N. Doc. A/ RES/61/106 (Dec. 13, 2006)