Post Level : International Consultant
Languages Required : English
Duration of Initial Contract : October to December 2016 - a total of up to 35 working days

Purpose of consultancy:

UN Country Team in BiH’s Joint Program on Conflict-related Sexual Violence (CRSV) is working on a three-pronged approach aimed at improving the position of CRSV survivors in the country:

• Support for inclusive, aligned legislation conducive for the rights of CRSV survivors;
• Capacity development for comprehensive, sustainable services that respond to survivors’ needs;
• Contribution to alleviation of CRSV stigma, for both survivors and their families.

UNFPA is directly engaged in building capacities of public institutions for service provision to CRSV survivors. However, stigma is one of the biggest obstacles to improving the quality of life of survivors of Conflict-related Sexual Violence (CRSV). Focusing the attention on the stigma against survivors of conflict-related sexual violence must be a priority for those who provide assistance to survivors.

Therefore, there is no doubt that the victims of sexual violence in war are the victims of war, no matter how their sacrifice might be perceived as minor in comparison to those who have lost their body parts. And yet, in individual cases, the fact that they are the victims is being challenged, and these persons are not only faced with the conviction of the environment that the victims in some way have contributed to this situation, but this same belief is to some extent often accepted by the victims themselves, although such an inversion can be understood as a paradoxical attempt to protect one’s own identity and integrity. Victims are faced with stigmatizing attitudes and self-stigma (internalized stigmatization), and many persons with this experience themselves choose to keep it a secret until death, though –at least for some of them – there is a likelihood that their daily coping with the past is so painful that it makes them completely dysfunctional.

Sexual violence is a particularly sensitive topic and anybody who was not exposed to sexual violence in conflict is trying to make a distinction between themselves and the survivors, so they could find some kind of justification for what happened. People might even not be aware that they stigmatise and that is the reason why this Stigma Alleviation Program needs to define a long-term, strategic vision on how to systematically tackle the issue of stigmatization in BiH.

UNCT JP completed a complementary set of research that painted a clearer picture of the position of CRSV survivors in BiH today, including analysing views of survivors themselves, the general public, CSOs and service providers from public institutions. UNFPA is seeking to engage a qualified consultant who will review all the research findings and use it as starting point for defining consultative sessions with stakeholders and decision makers, before developing a comprehensive Stigma Alleviation Program.

This comprehensive Stigma Alleviation Program will be a self-contained, long-term initiative unto itself, while still being a part of the larger UN intervention in the area of Conflict-related Sexual Violence in BiH. As such, it will define all the goals, activities, actors, stakeholders, outputs, end results, timelines, risks, communication channels etc. needed to guide us in the period of January 2017 – April 2019.
 

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision and day to day coordination of Assistant Representative, International Consultant will be responsible for developing a long-term, comprehensive Stigma Alleviation Program. This document will guide all future interventions of UNCT JP on Conflict-related Sexual Violence (currently implemented by UNDP, UNFPA, UN Women and IOM) in the area of stigma alleviation. In parallel, work of the International Consultant will be augmented with two national consultants. The International Consultant will bear full responsibility for the delivery of the final product, which is the comprehensive Stigma Alleviation Program.
Breakdown of tasks:
1. Preparatory work, including desk review report and methodology to be used:

a. Review all the knowledge products produced under the JP, that include but are not limited to:

• Study on Stigmatisation of Conflict Related Sexual Violence Survivors in BiH;
• Study on Socio-economic impediments to (re)Integration of CRSV survivors in BiH;
• Guidelines of Media reporting on CRSV cases in BiH;
• Analysis of knowledge, views and attitudes of service delivery professionals towards CRSV survivors in BiH;
• Relevant legislation tackling CRSV in BiH;
• UNCT Joint Project on Conflict-related Sexual Violence Program Document.

b. Produce a desk review report outlining the current types and levels of CRSV stigma in BiH. Pay special attention to include descriptions of types of stigma experienced by male survivors as well. Keep in mind that desk-review report will set the tone and the baseline for further development of the Stigma Alleviation Program. Desk review report will be between 7 and 9 pages long and will contain following elements:

• Narrative part to be between 5 and 7 pages long;
• Visual representation of key information collected, but not contain more than 5 charts/infographics and not longer than 2 pages;
• Be written in clear, concise language;
• Highlight all the key patterns, trends and most important concepts recognized through the review.

c. Define methodology to be used in the following phases of the Stigma Alleviation Program development. Methodology will at the very least include the following elements:

• Conceptual framework for SAP development;
• Sampling size for consultation sessions;
• Breakdown of tools to be used during the Stigma Alleviation Program development.

2. Consult all the relevant stakeholders at all levels in BiH to inform the development of Stigma Alleviation Program
a. In order to fully develop a grounded strategy that relies on insights, knowledge and capacities of all actors to act on it, the consultant will organize consultative sessions with stakeholder groups where the starting point for the discussion will be the summarized findings from research data made available by UNCT Joint Program or other entities active in this field.
b. To that end, the consultant will organize at least 6 blocks of meetings with the following 4 stakeholder groups:

• International community (UNJP team, donors, etc.);
• Survivors’ groups, CSOs and academia, skilled professionals;
• Key government bodies at all levels;
• Media.

c. Special attention must be paid to geographical distribution of consultations. Due to the number of stakeholder groups, and the fact that they are scattered across the country, a total number of actual field visits and meetings will be larger than 6, but not greater than 15.  Consultations must be conducted within one week.

3. Based on the desk research and consultative sessions, develop the Stigma Alleviation Program
a. The consultant will develop the program which will at the very minimum include the following chapters

• Introduction/executive summary – max one page, with summarized long-term objectives, estimated outputs and a general breakdown of roles of implementing partners;
• Stigma Alleviation Objectives;
• Target groups;
• Preparatory phase – all the necessary elements, resources and tools before actual implementation;
• Activity Plan – 30 months overview, with aggregated, per quarter plan, with a more in-depth details on a per-week basis, including responsible parties and necessary inputs;
• Detailed Description of Activities – all activities broken down to the minute details, guiding future implementation;
• Detail description of stakeholders – breakdown per type (public, private, individual), including analysis of scope of influence, agenda, estimated resources dedicated to the issue;
• List of supporters - mapping of current supporters, their impact, scope of influence and area of expertise;
• Public broadcasting services, including social media channels, web-based news portals and a proposed network of Stigma Alleviation Champions.

Consultant will be required to also develop a detailed M&E plan with an associated logical framework.
b. When designing the Stigma Alleviation Program, the consultant will make sure to structure it in the following manner:
Core Elements
Delineating and specifying precise stigma alleviation approaches, focusing on:

• Gender and age of survivors (women, men, girls and boys);
• Stigmatization of children born as result of sexual violence;
• Internalised survivor stigma and the long-term impact on families, including ways  on how to tackle this;

Initiate community-wide dialogue and awareness raising:

• Public awareness on CRSV Stigma, its forms, determinants and impacts on the   survivors, their families and immediate community, and the society as a whole. Besides the inevitable psychological aid provided to survivors, we should also focus on the families of the survivors, who are experience secondary traumatization, Stigma Alleviation Program will deliberately and explicitly focus on the general public, bringing it into the discussion and raising its awareness on CRSV stigma and its impacts. Additionally, some awareness raising initiatives on survivors of sexual violence in conflict already exist, but those are mostly oriented to female survivors. It is very important to also draw attention to the existence of men who have survived sexual violence in conflict, because it is even a bigger taboo for them to talk about it and to seek help.

Alignment and sensitization of services to tackle stigma:

• Define minimum standards for stigma alleviation in service provision (health, justice, economic empowerment), including an advocacy plan for incorporating stigma alleviation elements into regular service provision within public institutions in BiH.

Positioning of CRSV Stigma Alleviation on the decision makers/stakeholder agenda

• Contribute to attitude and behaviour change amongst decision makers - to increase their understanding of status of survivors of CRSV in order to create more inclusive public policies and services

Core Thematic Areas of future intervention

• Service provision (medical care, psycho-social care, justice etc) that prevents stigmatization;
• National and community mechanisms that support survivors and work on alleviating stigma;
• The role of community and faith-based organizations as thought leaders in alleviating stigmatization;
• The role of the media and education in streamlining.

In addition to this, following core principles must be respected when designing the Stigma Alleviation Program:

• Do no harm approach:

When attempting to raise awareness among general population on sensitive issues the typical approach would be to bombard them with shocking, provoking footage/claims that startle observers and make them think. However, this is exactly what must be to avoided at all costs – abstain from sensationalism, focus on understanding and empathy. However, all and any programming that departs from a stereotypical portrayal of survivors as broken, dysfunctional individuals, living in seclusion and self-imposed exile must be avoided.

• Complete buy-in of key stakeholder groups:

Utmost care and attention must be paid when consulting stakeholder groups on views, opinions and suggestions on Stigma Alleviation Programming. UNFPA will be verifying and validating with partners all the draft elements of the SAP as they are being submitted by the consultant.

• Scalability and financial modularity:

Proposed solutions must be scalable and modular – they must be able to undergo expansion, reduction or re-combination based on availability of financial resources without losing coherence or ability to impact target groups, albeit on a different scale.
Consultant is expected to deliver a comprehensive Stigma Alleviation Program by 25th December, 2016.

• Desk research to be submitted by 5th of November, 2016 for review;
• Complete methodology to be submitted for approval by 11th November, 2016 for review and approval;
• 11th November - 25th November 2016: field work – consultations with stakeholder groups;
• Draft, comprehensive Stigma Alleviation Program to be submitted for review by 7th December , 2016;
• Final comprehensive Stigma Alleviations Program to be submitted by 25th December 2016.

In terms of reporting and progress control, consultant’s work will be continuously evaluated after each closed phase, and approved prior to commencing the next one.
In terms of format, Stigma Alleviation Program must be delivered in English, written in a clear, concise manner, avoiding verbose constructs. Additionally, the Program must be between 50 and 70 pages long.
Consultant is expected to travel to Sarajevo, BiH once to conduct consultations with stakeholder groups

Competencies

• Builds strong relationships;
• Focuses on impact and results and responds positively to feedback;
• Approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
• Values:
• Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling UN values and ethical standards;
• Demonstrates professional competence and is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results;
• Displays cultural, gender, nationality, religion and age sensitivity and adaptability.

   

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree in the field of psychology, social work, political sciences, international relations, or related fields. 

Work Experience:

• Minimum of five years of professional experience working with international organizations active in the field of prevention of gender based violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights; advocacy and outreach on programming for vulnerable populations.

Previous experience in dealing with issues of Conflict-related sexual violence and stigma reduction will be considered a strong asset.

Skills and knowledge areas:

• The incumbent should display high level of knowledge on Gender Equality/Gender Based Violence/Conflict-related Sexual Violence issues in general and particularly in Europe;
• Display full understanding of the international legal framework relating to Conflict-related sexual violence;
• Possess in-depth understanding of types and impacts of stigmatisation onto various disadvantaged, under-privileged and marginalised groups;
• Demonstrated knowledge and expertise in developing comprehensive plans and programs aimed at stigma alleviation;
• Great organisational and logistical skills;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills. Communicates clearly and effectively. Seeks to understand the ideas of others. Helps create an environment for open communication;
• Ability to conceptualize information into written reports;
• Delivers oral/written information in a timely, effective and easily understood manner;
• Initiative, sound judgment and demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with people of different ethnic backgrounds;
• Fluency in English.

Work of the International consultant will be augmented with two national consultants.
Suitable female and male candidates are invited to send a quote for the work as outlined in the Terms of Reference (please provide a lump sum). Payment for contractor will not exceed average UNFPA rates for international consultants. UNFPA reserves the right to offer to the selected candidate the rate in accordance with UNFPA consultant rates and UNFPA available budget.
Where the contractor fails to deliver the required quality of products, the rate payable will be reduced. UNFPA reserves the right to assess the quality of products. Contractor has obligation to finalise products/documents to the full UNFPA satisfaction;

The contract terms will include the following:

• The contractor must observe UN Minimum Operational Security Standards (MOSS) as communicated by the United Nations for the location(s) visited;
• Be willing to travel to and around Bosnia and Herzegovina.