Call for Expression on Interest for Individual Consultancy to Develop Kenya’s Country Guide on Gender and Disability Stereotypes in Law and Practice

Target start date: August 2025

Duration: 2 months

Introduction

Composed of 60 eminent judges and lawyers from all regions of the world, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) promotes and protects human rights through the Rule of Law, by using its unique legal expertise to develop and strengthen national and international justice systems. Established in 1952, in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council since 1957, and active on the five continents, the ICJ aims to ensure the progressive development and effective implementation of international human rights and international humanitarian law; secure the realization of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights; safeguard the separation of powers; and guarantee the independence of the judiciary and legal profession. The ICJ is committed to securing the realization of all human rights for all people, and in particular the rights of marginalized and disadvantaged individuals and groups.

The ICJ is looking for an individual consultant based in Kenya who will support the development of Guidelines on Gender and Disability Stereotyping in Access to Justice (“country Guide”), in order to promote access to justice for women and girls with disabilities in Kenya.

Background

Harmful gender stereotypes and resulting assumptions and inferences manifest on a day-to-day basis throughout the world in a range of social contexts and human interactions. Where laws, regulations, policies, and justice-system practices embody them, they give rise to gender discrimination and undermine women’s equal enjoyment of their human rights.1 Across many jurisdictions of the world, a series of harmful gender and disability stereotypes and resulting assumptions and inferences continue to be reflected in substantive laws, legal procedures and practices. These laws, procedures and practices, which reflect harmful gender and disability stereotypes and assumptions, undermine the effective investigation and prosecution of cases, giving rise to infringements of human rights to non-discrimination, dignity, access to justice, equality of law and freedom from degrading and inhuman treatment amongst others.

The ICJ is implementing a project on Empowering Non-Discrimination and Advancement for Women and Girls, Including Those with Disabilities, in Kenya, Nepal, and Uzbekistan. The project issupported by the Finnish Government. The project adopts an intersectional approach, recognising that women and girls with disabilities face multiple, intersecting forms of discrimination and stereotypes across sectors including in accessing justice.

The country Guide is a tool intended to assist the efforts of judicial officers, prosecutors, legislators, lawyers, law enforcement officials, human rights defenders and other actors to enhance access to procedural and substantive justice for women and girls particularly those with disabilities. The country Guide will highlight a number of harmful gender stereotypes and assumptions (in both law and practice) and provide, in simplified form, the alternatives, based on human rights standards and international best practices.

Scope of Work and Deliverables

Under the supervision of the ICJ Africa team, the consultant will carry out the following duties:

1. Facilitate structured stakeholders’ engagement meetings to identify and receive feedback on the relevant issues for inclusion in the country Guide.
2. Conduct a validation meeting with stakeholders on the draft report.
3. Engage litigants, lawyers, members of the bench and other court users, organisations of persons with disabilities, women and girls with disabilities and other stakeholders (in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu) to establish lived experiences in interactions with the justice system.
4. Develop an accessible country Guide on discrimination and stereotyping for women and girls with disabilities in the justice system in Kenya.
5. The consultant will provide concise content that covers the following areas:

• International and regional framework governing gender and disability stereotypes in accessing justice.
• Legislative and policy framework in Kenya including but not limited to civil and criminal justice, laws on disability, women and girls and to what extent (if at all) they embody gender and disability discrimination and harmful gender and disability stereotypes.
• Succinct analysis of the emerging jurisprudence and practice in the prosecution of cases involving women and girls with disabilities.
• Manifestations of gender and disability stereotyping and assumptions in the Court processes.
• Document good practices, and specific practical recommendations to overcoming harmful gender and disability stereotypes in Kenya’s laws and practice.

The consultant will write the document in line with a guide that will be provided by the ICJ team.

The final output will be a concise, clearly written country Guide that will empower court users and strengthen the capacity of duty-bearers to respect, fulfil, and protect human rights for all, particularly women and girls with disabilities in accessing justice.

Required Qualifications & Experience

1. The consultant must be well conversant with the civil and criminal justice system and actors in Kenya and the applicable laws
2. Minimum five years’ experience in human rights including disability rights
3. The consultant has an in-depth understanding and experience of intersectionality between gender and disability
4. The consultant has a Bachelor’s degree in either law, human rights, political science, social sciences, or other relevant degree
5. Excellent analytical and writing skills in the English language
6. Strong facilitation, presentation, and communication skills
7. Team player with the ability to closely collaborate with the ICJ staff, local partners, and project stakeholders

Timelines

• The consultancy covers a fee for 25 days of work; spread across two months.
• The tentative date for completion of the assignment is September 2025.

How to apply

The consultant must send the following documents to the Africa Regional Director recruitment@icj.org by 27th July 2025, midnight East Africa Time (EAT):

• CV
• Technical proposal (maximum three pages) on how you will approach the task including methodology and workplan with projected timelines
• Proposed fee for the assignment
• A sample of comparable assignment

Please include “Gender and Disability Stereotyping Consultancy” in the subject line of the application e-mail.

Please appreciate that due to the volume of applications, only short-listed applications will be contacted.

The ICJ is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity and values a diverse workforce. The ICJ’s policy is to practice a fair and non-discriminatory recruitment and selection procedure and to strive for and maintain international and multi-cultural personnel.

Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.

ICJ staff must adhere to its Code of Ethics which states that discrimination, bullying and harassment in any form will not be tolerated, nor sexual harassment, violence or assault in any form. The successful candidate will be required to pass a background check.

ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE: Applicants with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process may send their requests through an email to recruitment@icj.org, or call +41 229 793 833.