UNICEF
A multi-country evaluation of UNICEF-led interventions in the Latin America & Caribbean region Request for proposal

Reference: LRPS-2018-9144552
Beneficiary countries: Panama
Registration level: Basic
Published on: 12-Nov-2018
Deadline on: 03-Dec-2018 08:00 (GMT -5.00)

Description

DEADLINE has been extended to the 

03-Dec-2018 08:00 Panama Time

This new time and date supersedes the RFP document. 

New Q&A will be accepted till the 24th November 23.59 Panama Time.

Final Q&A will be posted during the 26th November.

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Introduction

  1. The protection of children from all forms of violence is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international human rights treaties and standards. Yet violence remains an all-too-real part of life for children around the globe – regardless of their economic and social circumstances, culture, religion or ethnicity – with both immediate and long-term consequences. Children who have been severely abused or neglected are often hampered in their development, experience learning difficulties and perform poorly at school. They may have low self-esteem and suffer from depression, which can lead, at worst, to risk behavior and self-harm.
  2. The SDGs explicitly target violence through the SDG 16 and specifically target 16.2 which seeks to End of all forms of violence against children. There are important linkages between goal 16.2 and goal 5.2 which seeks to Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation and goal 5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation. (SDG 5 on gender equality).
  3. UNICEF understands violence against girls and boys in line with Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: “all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse”. Under this broad definition, this evaluation will cover violence against children and adolescents; and sexual and gender-based violence in the form of interpersonal violence (including physical, sexual and emotional) against girls and boys at home, school, work and in the community. Due to the situation in the region, the evaluation will also cover violence against children and adolescents in the public sphere, and the effects of armed violence in limiting the mobility and opportunities for boys, girls, and adolescents. The evaluation will not, however, look at violence in emergencies or directly linked to armed violence.
  4. To fully understand to what extent violence is suffered by children and adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), UNICEF looks to address violence in different settings:
  • Violent discipline at home is the most common form of violence experienced by children. While teaching children self-control and acceptable behavior is an integral part of child rearing in all cultures, many caregivers rely on the use of violent methods, both physical and psychological, to punish unwanted behaviors and encourage desired ones. 1 out of every 2 children in Latin America and the Caribbean is subject to corporal punishment.
  • Peer violence - Once children enter school, friendships and interactions with peers take on an increasingly important role in their lives. These relationships have the potential to contribute to a child’s sense of well-being and to social competence, but they are also associated with exposure to new forms of victimization. Although peer violence can take many forms, available data suggest that bullying by schoolmates is by far the most common.  The bullying of both girls and boys is often linked to gender-stereotypes. Cultural values and social roles imposed by teachers and other children can lead to sexual harassment and even sexual violence against girls — consequently contributing to their absenteeism and drop-out from school.[1]
  • Sexual violence is one of the most unsettling of children’s rights violations. As such, it is the subject of dedicated international legal instruments aimed at protecting children against its multiple forms. Although children of every age are susceptible, adolescence is a period of pronounced vulnerability, especially for girls.
  • Intimate partner violence includes any physical, sexual or emotional abuse perpetrated by a current or former partner within the context of marriage, cohabitation or any other formal or informal union. In the Latin America and the Caribbean region where one out of four women are married before age 18, intimate partner violence is suffered daily by many adolescent girls below the age of 18.
  • Violent death - As girls and boys move through adolescence, they begin to spend increasing amounts of time in an ever-expanding social environment within and beyond their immediate networks, interacting with a wider array of people. The increased risk of victimization during adolescence is evident when looking at age-related patterns of deaths due to violence. As children enter the second decade of their lives, the mortality rate from violence more than doubles what it had been during their first 10 years of life. Latin America and the Caribbean is the only region that has seen an increase (albeit relatively small) in homicide rates among adolescents aged 10 to 19 since 2007. Slightly less than 10% of the world’s adolescents live in the region, but nearly half of all homicides among adolescents in 2015 occurred in the region. Currently one out of four homicide victims among children and adolescents worldwide take place in LAC (25,000 per year). An emerging area of concern in the region is the increasing rates of femicide.
  • Gender-based violence continues to be one of the most pervasive violations of human rights in the world. And humanitarian crises make vulnerable children even more vulnerable to harm. Four out of every ten girls aged 15-19 have experienced partner violence in their lifetime. 1.1 million adolescent girls 15-19 have experienced forced sexual violence or any other forced sexual acts.
  • Other types of violence experienced by children for which little information is available in the region such as neglect, institutional violence or Internet- related abuse such as cyberbullying or sex-testing) children in conflict with the law and migrants.
  1. The purpose of this assignment is to conduct a formative evaluation of specific UNICEF-supported interventions to eliminate violence against children (VAC) and to ascertain how the gender equality lens is being applied across these different interventions. This will be done through the in-depth assessment of selected interventions at country level in the Latin America and the Caribbean Region aimed at reducing violence against children affecting boys, girls, and adolescents aged 10-18 years old.
  2. The proposed evaluation was identified as a priority for UNICEF in Latin America and the Caribbean region, which is reflected in the UNICEF Regional Office Management Plan 2018-2021 for Latin America in the Caribbean Regional Office and the 24 Country Programme Documents of the Countries Offices in the region. It seeks to provide a systematic and objective assessment of achievements and challenges through the evaluation of 6 country-level initiatives.  The evaluation will document what works, what does not work and why and generate recommendations to strengthen UNICEF’s work policy, advocacy and programme response to address VAC in various contexts.
 

[1] UN Women, Report on Violence against girls in Latin America and the Caribbean, April 2015