VAWP Researcher

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.

As Libya continues its path of political transition, new opportunities have emerged for women’s public and political participation. At the same time, however, recent studies are indicating that women are experiencing many challenges and barriers to their representation and participation, and one significant but understudied challenge is violence against women in politics. According to the 2021 study conducted by DRI Libya and Jusoor Center for Studies and Development assessing the situation of Libyan women’s public participation, almost 60% of participants expressed that women felt deterred from participating in the public sphere as a result of attacks on women. These attacks were reported to be in the forms of bullying, threats, defamation, hate campaigns, forced disappearances, and murder and other forms of violence to discourage and intimidate them from public participation, or punish them for voicing their opinions.

Research conducted by UN Women Libya in coordination with DRI on the Obstacles and Opportunities Facing Women Municipal councilors and women municipal councilors candidates provided some important additional findings, while also further highlighting gaps and areas for further research with regards to violence against women in politics (VAWP). According to initial findings, almost 60% of interview participants disclosed experiencing some form of violence during their candidacy for, or work in, the municipal councils. The data indicated that there are potential knowledge and awareness gaps among women about violence against women in politics and that limited institutional support is available to survivors of VAWP. However, due to the limited scope of VAWP within the study, A need of a meaningful contextual framework to situate these occurrences and experiences within emerged, prompting a complementary phase of research to be conducted on violence against women in politics in local governance.

Objective of the Assignment:

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Head of Programmes and direct supervision of the Governance and EVAW Program associate, The International Researcher will provide technical and coordination support to the implementation of the new phase of the study on Violence Against Women in Politics in Libya.

the international researcher will work with national researcher to conduct the new phase of the study which will be qualitative research and the researchers are expected to conduct FGDs/KIIs with a sample of women in the municipal councils. the study will provide a qualitative analysis on the violence experienced by elected women municipal council members, as well as a contextual understanding of those experiences. In developing knowledge around VAWP in Libya and creating a foundation of data and frameworks through which to contextualize and make sense of VAWP experienced by women municipal council members, different stakeholders, including CSOs, NGOs, INGOs, government agencies and other actions will be better equipped to identify intervention and programming needs at the individual and institutional levels.

The assessment of VAWP across municipalities in Libya will draw on women’s lived experiences as municipal council members, as well as relevant key informants from civil society organizations. The main research aspects of this study should tackle:

The socio-cultural and institutional drivers of VAWP in Libya;
The reasons of violence against women in municipal councils’ positions;
The experiences of women municipal councilors with violence.

Duties and Responsibilities

Data Collection:

Develop data collection tools;
Collect the qualitative data.

Mapping:

Women municipal councillors to be interviewed;
overall prevalence of VAWP against municipal councilors;
types and locations of VAWP against municipal councilors;
types of support, resources, and responses available to survivors of VAWP;
existing protection mechanisms and legal frameworks for protection from VAWP.

Assessing:

the ways in which relevant socio-cultural and institutional policies and practices perpetuate or discourage VAWP;
knowledge and awareness levels of VAWP.

Understanding:

the root causes and objectives of VAWP;
whether and how the threat of violence impacts women’s political participation (before, during and after elections;
Understand the individual impacts of VAWP on survivors.

Data Analysis:

Analyze and interpret data collected through, interviews and focus groups;
Develop a research report that – besides presenting results from the analysis of qualitative data – includes cases of VAWP based on women in politics life stories.

* Consultant are expected to be equipped with all materials and equipment needed to perform their tasks for example laptop, software etc..

Deliverables

Timeline

inception report first/desk review

15th Jun 2022

Frist draft of the study on Violence Against Women in politics in Local governance" (VAWP): Violence Against Women Candidates to Municipal Elections and Women Elected Municipal Councilors

5th Jul 2022

Final draft of the study

20th Jul 2022

A research report -includes cases of VAWP based on women in politics life stories- drafted and finalized.

27th Jul 2022

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

Excellent analytical and research skills;.
Strong understanding of and commitment to gender equality and women`s empowerment and it`s policy implications.
Excellent writing skills.
Use of Gender-sensitive language.
Adaptability to include comments and revisions as required.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Law, gender studies, international relations, Political Science, or other social science fields is required.
A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

3 years of progressively responsible experience at national or international level in the field of research and studies is required.
Proven research, analytical and writing skills is required.
Previous experience in conducting research in Libya or MENA conflict countries is required.
Experience working in elections and electoral reform is an asset.
experience in conducting research on women elected municipal councilors is an asset.
Providing high-quality research, including comments and revisions according to the specified deadlines is an asset.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in oral and written Arabic is required working knowledge of English is required.

Evaluation Criteria:

Individual consultants will be evaluated based on the following methodology: Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for the financial evaluation.

Criteria Weight Technical: 70% (70 points)

Criteria 1: Education (20 points)
Criteria 2: Experience (20 points)
Criteria 3: Languages (30 points)

Financial: Lowest Financial Proposal: 30% (30 points)

The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula:

Contract will be awarded to the technically qualified consultant who obtains the highest combined score (financial and technical);
The points for the Financial Proposal will be allocated as per the following formula: (Lowest Bid Offered*)/ (Bid of the Consultant) x 30;