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.

Across the world, women and girls fear and experience various types of sexual violence in public spaces, from unwelcome sexual remarks and touching to rape and femicide. It happens on streets, in and around schools, public transportation, workplaces, parks, public toilets and other spaces in urban, rural, online, and conflict/post conflict settings.

The prevalence of VAW in Moldova remains high, three out of four women, or 73%, have experienced some form of partner abuse. 71% were victims of psychological abuse, while a third of women have experienced physical violence, and 20.9% sexual violence. Despite significant progress, including in the area of legal and policy reforms, research, and awareness raising campaigns, the prevalence of VAW in Moldova remains high.

Building on over 50 years of sustained efforts undertaken by women’s organizations, grassroots, international networks, local governments in cities around the world, UN Women launched the Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Global Initiative that began implementation in January 2011 to prevent and respond to various forms of sexual violence against women and girls (SVAWG) in public spaces. It supports local and national governments to address multiple sustainable development goal targets across multiple goals. “Safe Cities Free of Violence against Women and Girls” Global Programme which began with 5 cities, now spans nearly 60 cities to prevent and respond to sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence against women and girls (SVAWG) in public spaces in different settings (urban, rural, online).

The Global Initiative contributes to the emerging international knowledge based on effective strategies to prevent and respond to harassment and other forms of sexual violence against women and girls in urban and online public spaces and aims to build more inclusive, sustainable, and safe cities. It was designed with local, regional, and global partners in response to the growing concerns about everyday experiences of women and girls all over the world as they experience sexual violence in public spaces as they go about their daily routines, whether on city streets, parks, in markets, on buses and trains or in their own neighborhoods, or online. This reality reduces women’s and girls’ freedom of movement. It reduces their ability to participate in school, work, and public life. It limits their access to essential services and their enjoyment of cultural and recreational activities, and negatively impacts their health and well-being.

Impact level results of each safe city/safe public spaces with women and girls’ programme includes (i) women and girls enjoy a greater sense of safety, and increased comfort in public spaces; (ii) amplified use of public spaces and increased autonomous mobility of women and girls in the city and (III) a decrease in number of sexual harassment or other forms of sexual violence in public spaces.

UN Women Moldova seeks a National Consultant on EVAW to conduct a scoping study in Chisinau municipality and to develop a Programme Design (guided by UN Women’s Global Guidance for Scoping Studies and Guidance Note for Developing a Programme Design), which can be adapted to local city context, and provide technical assistance in developing a comprehensive, multistakeholder, evidence-driven Safe City programme.

Duties and Responsibilities

The national consultant will work under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Project Manager, EVAW, including with technical inputs from the EVAW section in Headquarter and in close cooperation with the National Consultant on Public Spaces Accessibility for Women and Girls. The national consultant in the EVAW area will lead the process of conducting the Scoping Study and developing a Programme Design document. This will involve ensuring the overall coordination of the conducted activities, including the incorporation of information and formulated recommendations provided by the Consultant on public spaces accessibility for women and girls.

In this consultancy, UN Women aims to identify gender-responsive locally relevant and owned interventions to address sexual violence against women and girls in public spaces, as well through conducting a scoping study and through holding a consultative validation and programme design workshops. These design workshops are used to engage key stakeholders in active reflections on the findings of the scoping study, and to enable them to develop programme with a specific set of results, based on the local context, vision, and joint stakeholders’ accountability.

Scoping study objective shall encompass provision of the (i) evidence-base for stakeholders to identify solutions, including valid and specific data to ensure a deep understanding of local forms of sexual violence against women and girls in public spaces and the context in which it occurs, as well shaping local ownership by creating multi-stakeholder partnerships through inclusive and participatory process.

Led by UN Women’s Guidance Note, the Scoping study will collect data from both literature review and local stakeholders including national/local authorities, civil society organizations and groups of women with particular vulnerabilities and who may be more likely to experience such violence (e.g., women with disabilities, young women, Roma women etc.) to gain deep understanding of the issues in the city related to the safety of women and girls in public spaces, including sexual harassment and other forms of violence.

The selected consultant is responsible for ensuring the successful completion of the tasks, as described below.

Shall be noted that implementation of the tasks will require close teamwork with the National Consultant on public spaces accessibility for women and girls. In this regard, the National Consultant on EVAW will ensure coordination and leadership throughout the process. This includes, but not limited to, preparing information related to EVAW area, as well incorporating information on public spaces accessibility for women and girls, at every stage of the development of the Scoping Study and the Programme design document, as follows:

• Development of a qualitative methodology for a scoping study, in line with UN Women’s Guidance for Scoping Studies. The methodology should be guided by key lines of request included in the Guidance and include clear operational definitions for sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence. The methodology should also reflect the local context and consider the dimension of VAWG where women experience sexual harassment and other forms of violence, online and offline. Also, an explained outline will be produced with a list of key informant interviews (short guide that outlines questions). Additionally, a planned list of key informants and the composition of FGD groups shall be provided. Submit these materials to UN Women Moldova for technical input and incorporate feedback into the revised tools ahead of the field research.
• Conducting a desk review of documents regarding legislative framework and policies available at the national and Chisinau municipality level, as well on existing quantitative studies, surveys, reports etc. on online/offline sexual harassment or other forms of VAWG.
• Conducting qualitative data collection (e.g., key informant interviews, focus group discussions) with selected local stakeholders, including national/local authorities, women’s rights organizations and other civil society organizations, and diverse local grassroots women, ensuring that the principle of intersectionality and leaving no one behind (LNOB) in to better understand safety concerns of differently positioned women. Ensure WHO ethnical guidelines on researching violence against women are enforced throughout the research process.
• Submitting draft report on the scoping study to UN Women for inputs and comments and incorporate feedback. The Scoping Study should follow the suggested structure provided by the Guidance for Scoping Studies.
• Produce a Power Point Presentation on the findings of the scoping study which will be used in validation/programme design workshops.
• Provide technical support to ensure the development of a robust programme design during workshops organized by UN Women, by engaging different multi-stakeholders (e.g., governmental/local authorities, civil society organizations, UN agencies, etc.) This includes but is not limited to, delivering the Power Point Presentation on scoping study and highlighting main findings in EVAW area; facilitating the discussions and consultations during workshops; developing a Theory of Change and intervention model. This process shall be in accordance with the Guidance Note for Developing a Programme Design.
• Submitting a final report of the scoping study, which incorporates all inputs and comments from validation/programme design workshops, including from UN Women.
• Submit a draft of the Programme Design, that includes inputs from different stakeholders during the design workshops for review to UN Women.
• Submit a final Programme Design, which incorporates all inputs from UN Women.

Deliverables:

The National Consultant on EVAW will be responsible for submitting the deliverables, resulting from collaborative efforts in conducting a Scoping Study and developing the Programme Design Document with the National Consultant on Public Spaces accessibility for women and girls.

All written deliverables should be agreed with UN Women, including with beneficiary partner and be provided in English, in electronic copy. Note that all materials, including images will remain property of UN Women and cannot be used without UN Women’s permission.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy.

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:

https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Ability to critically review relevant documents, including local policies and plans, reports about local problems and services, and relevant research reports.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to critically appraise and analyze data sets and published statistics collected by government agencies, service providers and other organizations.
• Ability to collect and interpret qualitative information through key informant interviews and observation.
• Ability to integrate and synthesize information collected from varied sources to make it useful and accessible to diverse interested parties.
• Ability to perform a variety of standard specialized and non-specialized tasks and work processes that are fully documented, researched, recorded, and reported.
• Uses Information Technology effectively as a tool and resource.
• Focuses on result and responds positively to feedback.
• Networking skills and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree in human rights, sociology, gender studies, public relations, development studies and/or other social science related areas relevant for the assignment.
• A first-level university degree in combination with 2 additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

• Additional training and certification in GE, human rights, EVAW etc. is an advantage.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of proven professional experience in leading comprehensive projects in areas such as crime prevention, community safety, ending violence against women and girls, gender equality is required.
• At least 5 years of experience in writing reports and publications, conducting research, which have made a significant contribution to public policy, programmes or learning in the field of development practice and studies on issues related to human rights, women’s rights, sexual violence, and ending violence against women and girls in different settings (e.g. urban, rural, work, online) is required.
• Production of tools for practitioners on gender-based violence, involving multi-sectoral partnership building is an advantage.
• Experience in working with international organizations is an advantage.

Languages:

• Fluency in written and oral English and Romanian is required.
• Working knowledge of Russian is an advantage.

APPLICATION PROCESS AND SUBMISSION PACKAGE

Interested candidates are invited to submit their online applications with the following documents:

• Duly completed and signed P11 (P11 can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc ) Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page);
• Any materials conducted by the applicant, such as reports, surveys, publications, studies, or other relevant materials. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment.

Please note that only short-listed applicants will be contacted.

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The United Nations in Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.