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.

At the global level, the Government of Malawi is a party and signatory to several international and regional instruments that promote gender equity, equality, and the empowerment of women. Malawi is signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1987); Beijing Platform for Action (1995); Vienna Declaration on Human Rights; Protocol to the African Charter on People and Human Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2005); Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa; and SADC Protocol on Gender and Development (2000). At the National level, the Malawi Constitution enshrines the principle of equality. It invalidates any practice that discriminates against women; Malawi’s Constitution – Sections 20 (2) and 24 contain the Bill of Rights. The Malawi Vision 63 and the 10-year Malawi Implementation Plan under pillar enabler and coordination groups includes gender equality as sub theme under Human Capital Development. The National Gender Policy and its Programme promote the full and equal participation of men and women in decision-making at all levels. The Gender Equality Act, 2013 is a landmark step toward the attainment of Gender Equality. It is also the first opportunity to translate the constitutional provisions and principles regarding gender and gender equality into law.

The Malawi Police Service (MPS) established under sections 152 and 153 of the Constitution as an independent organ of the executive for the protection of public safety and the rights of persons in Malawi according to prescriptions of the Constitution and any other law. The MPS is mandated by section 4 of the Police Act to provide for the: Prevention, investigation, and detection of crime, apprehension, and prosecution of offenders; maintenance of law and order; protection of property, life, fundamental freedoms and rights of individuals, enforcement of all laws and regulations under which they are directly charged.

The promotion of gender equality in the security sector is a core element of global, regional, national, and local efforts to ‘build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels’, as enshrined in Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For example, the 2019 High-Level Roundtable on Gender Parity and security sector recommended that Member States and the UN join efforts to: (i) increase the proportion of women at all levels of the security sector institutions, in particular in senior positions; (ii) prevent and respond to gender-based discrimination in the security sector work-place; (iii) promote the employment of women in the security sector and their networks; (iv) enhance the availability of data of women in the national security institutions to track progress and promote accountability to the implementation of Goal 16. This also seeks to complement the achievement of SDG 5 on Gender Equality.

Therefore, development of Malawi Police Gender Policy will not only be integrated into the Service Standing Orders but to inform recruitment and operational policies and guidelines. The MPS Service Standing Orders have currently been reviewed to integrate gender issues in the quest for reform which are aligned with the Security Council resolution 2151 (2014) which identifies core standards and principles of the UN support to national security sector reform processes. The resolution underscores the need for the inclusion of more women in the security sector” and notes the importance of “equal and effective participation and full overall objective of the consultancy is to conduct the National review of the implementation of Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 30 years after its adoption, (Beijing +30). Provisions of the policy shall apply to all persons regardless of gender, sexual orientation, position, function, seniority, status, and other characteristics.

Objectives of the Assignment

The specific objectives of this assignment are as follows:

1. Conduct a Gender Audit of the Malawi Police Service to gather data on critical aspects including gender issues to facilitate development of the Malawi Police Service Gender Policy. This will lead into development of a gender audit report. The audit should

• Map the international and regional agreements or instruments on gender equality signed or/and ratified by the Republic of Malawi
• Assess the implementation and compliance of such agreements and instruments on gender equality in the MPS as a security institution including identify the gaps thereof.
• Review the level of gender awareness and determine the understanding and capacity for reporting and monitoring the implementation of such agreements/instruments on gender equality among responsible officers in the MPS.
• Highlight key areas and recommendations to be incorporated in the MPS gender Policy.

2. Draft an Issue Paper with proposed areas recommended for the policy gaps identified above and establish measures to ensure the reporting and monitoring of the international and regional agreements/instruments on gender equality in the Police.

3. Through a consultative meeting with key persons in MPS’s various departments, including female Police Officers, develop a Gender Policy for Malawi Police Service by

• Consolidating all the necessary information gathered and draft the MPS Gender Policy
• Conducting a Senior Management Team and a High Command workshop meeting to validate the policy.

4. Provide any other advice related to Gender on the functions and operations of Malawi Police in line with policy implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

The specific tasks will include:

• A desk review of the relevant documents and literature relevant to the specific objectives of the assignment
• Inception report detailing the methodology to be used in the assignment.
• Interview of key stakeholders, including key MPS personnel such as the Inspector General, Deputy Inspector General (Administration and Operations), Heads of Branches based at the National Police Headquarters, regional Headquarters, and a sample of male and female Police Officers
• Develop a Gender Audit Report and Issue Paper
• Conduct a stakeholders’ regional consultations and other key consultations.
• Develop a draft MPS Gender Policy
• Facilitate consultative meetings with Senior management team to review the 1st draft policy.
• Present the draft Gender Policy to MPS Senior Management and High Command for review and validation.
• Submit final MPS Gender Policy

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

At the end of the assignment the consultant will have delivered the following completed tasks and deliverables:

• Inception report
• Gender Audit Report
• Issue paper with proposed key recommendations for the Gender Policy
• Consultative and validation/review workshops with key stakeholders
• Workshop/validation reports from consultative meetings with key stakeholders
• First MPS draft Gender Policy
• Second MPS draft Gender Policy
• Final MPS Gender Policy

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
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies

• Policy formulation
• Research and Analysis
• Consultation and engagement
• Strategic thinking

Required Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree in Gender Studies, Law, Social Sciences, Public Administration, Political Science, Social Sciences, or a related field is required.
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in Policy Development
• Proven in-depth knowledge, expertise, and practical experience in development of policy documents, especially Gender related policy documents.
• Traceable experience working and/or conducting gender assessment in the national, regional, or international security sector institutions.
• Good analytical skills and practical exposure to applying gender analysis, gender mainstreaming, monitoring, and evaluation in national, regional, or international security sector institutions.
• Practical knowledge of handling gender and sexual harassment issues
• Proven knowledge and understanding of Police work Procedures.
• Extensive experience in facilitation and conducting training. Knowledge of the Malawi Police Service’s capacity and realities on the ground would be an added advantage.
• Familiarity and experience in working with or collaboratively with security sector institutions.