UN-Women
Expression of Interest for Consultancy on “Guiding the implementation of National Prevalence Surveys on Gender-Based Violence in the Caribbean Request for EOI

Reference: MCO - Carribean
Beneficiary countries: Barbados
Published on: 10-Feb-2015
Deadline on: 24-Feb-2015 23:59 (GMT -8.00)

Description

UN Women is seeking to contract an International expert or team of experts who will work closely with the national bodies implementing the Prevalence Survey, providing technical guidance in the application of the Survey methodology; and providing analytical guidance and inputs in the preparation of the final Survey results and report. 

 

The work of the consultancy will cover two countries (see below).

 

The overall objective of the consultancy is to be the technical and methodological lead expert in the implementation of the Prevalence Survey Methodology, which is based on the WHO Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women global methodology.

 

With worsening crime rates and violent crimes in the Caribbean, there is an urgent need for evidenced based responses that focuses on primary prevention and addressing the root and underlying social issues.  The 2012 Caribbean Human Development Report on Citizen Security (UNDP) points to the fact whilst Caribbean countries have made significant development advances post-independence, there is a growing concern that increasing crime and violence is eroding the quality of life of citizen and has resulted in a greater sense of insecurity and fear of victimization. The CHDR points to a strong correlation between pervasive inequalities and multiple deprivations and rising rates of violence.  Of notable concern, is the increasing levels of gender-based violence (GBV) – and within this, the most prevalent form of GBV, which is violence against women. It is increasingly acknowledged that combatting GBV is of considerable importance to addressing the challenges of growing insecurity in the Caribbean.

 

For the Caribbean in general, GBV is one of the most prevalent forms of violence and it directly impacts citizen security, including the stability and health of a family and community.  Despite the prevalence of GBV in the CARICOM territories, citizen security approaches too often fail to give consideration to GBV – including sexual violence - as “serious” citizen security issues. Rather, GBV cases are often seen as a “soft” issues or “private” family issues and separate from the state security concerns related to the more public manifestations of insecurity such as crime, including drug interdiction and small arms control. 

 

As stated, of the types of GBV, violence against women is the most prevalent. Looking at the occurrence of violence against women through the lens of gender-based violence is essential to understanding the root causes; the response; and the societal challenges to tackling this phenomena.

 

Within the UN system, the need for national violence against women (VAW) data is given high priority. One of the five key outcomes in the current 2008-2015 UN Secretary General Campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women is the establishment in all countries by 2015 of systems for data collection and analysis on VAW.  Further the Friends of the Chair Group, established in February 2008 by United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) at its 39th session, developed 9 statistical indicators on the prevalence of VAW.  Following this adoption, the UN Statistics Division/Economic & Social Affairs, in collaboration with various stakeholders, in 2013, finalized and published the “Guidelines for producing statistics on violence against women: statistical surveys.”  In line with the request by the UNSC, these guidelines have been developed to help standardize statistics on violence against women and to provide national statistical offices with guidance for collecting, processing, disseminating and analyzing the data.  They build strongly on the experience and methodology of dedicated studies, such as the methodology for the WHO multi-country study which has focused on violence against women in the home. Most recently, the 57th Commission on the Status of Women (2013) stressed once more the importance of data collection on the prevention and elimination of VAW in their agreed conclusions.