| TERMS OF REFERENCE (to be completed by Hiring Office) | |
| Hiring Office: | Turkmenistan Country Office |
| Title: | International expert to train national service providers in Family Support Centres and Civil Registration Office on psychological counselling for GBV survivors and family counselling |
| Purpose of consultancy: | For almost three decades, UNFPA has been a strategic partner of the Government of Turkmenistan in empowering women and promoting gender equality. The UNFPA Gender Program aims at working with government agencies to create comprehensive systems and mechanisms to enable women and adolescents to make informed choices and be protected from violence, and to engage men and boys in promoting positive social norms in society.
Violence against women and girls is a global issue that has significant consequences on the well-being, health, rights and safety of women and girls, as well as on educational outcomes, productivity and public policies. It also affects children, families and whole communities. If unaddressed, these human rights violations will have serious implications on poverty reduction and development and efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Existing evidence shows that gender-based violence in Turkmenistan has been still considered a sensitive public issue and gives grounds for a concern. For instance, 58.4 per cent of women aged 15-49 years justify violence against women due to the established traditional gender roles of women in a family and society. This has almost been doubled from 35% in 2016. Only 42.2 per cent of women aged 15-49 years (married or in union) make informed decisions about sex, contraceptive use and reproductive health (SDG indicator 5.6. 1). This indicator is even less for women living in rural areas (37,7 %). The Sustainable Development Index measuring progress toward gender equality (59.4) also shows inequalities for women and girls, including issues ranging from health and gender-based violence to other socio-economic dimensions of life. 12 per cent of women aged 18-59 have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence by a spouse or partner. In 2022, UNFPA Turkmenistan started the implementation of the second phase of its Regional Project on “Strengthening prevention and response to GBV in Central Asia” which is a part of a Central Asia programme funded by the Central Asia – UK Conflict Stability and Security Fund funding (CSSF). The project aims at (i) promoting social norms changes as well as behavioural changes at community level and among religious leaders; (ii) building capacity of key services providers and will strengthen GBV coordination mechanisms at national level. The project has been designed to work so that women and girls in Central Asian Republics (CARs), including the most vulnerable, are provided through a multi-sectoral, survivor-centred inclusive Gender Based Violence (GBV) services in both humanitarian and development settings. The CEDAW Committee, in its concluding observations on the sixth report in 2024, recommended strengthening support services for women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence. In July 2024 UNFPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Red Crescent Society of Turkmenistan to provide psychological counselling and case management support to women and girls with a focus on gender-based violence. Following the signing the services were launched in 5 regions of the country and Ashgabat city. Within this context, in close consultations with the National Society of Red Crescent in Turkmenistan there is a need to hire an international consultant to train national service providers in Family Support Centres and Civil Registration Office on psychological counselling for GBV survivors and family counselling. |
| Scope of work:
(Description of services, activities, or outputs) |
The deliverables of this consultancy include:
Planning phase:
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| Expected Outcomes and Deliverables: | The total number of days: 15 working days:
Deliverable 1: Training materials and presentations by November 23, 2024; Deliverable 2: Debriefing and final report – December 10, 2024. |
| Duration and working schedule: | Duration of this consultancy is from November 12 through December 10, 2024. |
| Place where services are to be delivered: | The place where services are to be delivered home based with the country mission in the period of December 2-6, 2024. |
| Monitoring and progress control, including reporting requirements, periodicity format and deadline: | The International Consultant will report to the UNFPA Programme Analyst on Gender and Youth and will provide an update biweekly on progress, challenges encountered, and support requirements. |
| Supervisory arrangements: | The National Consultant will directly report and work under the guidance of the UNFPA Programme Analyst on Gender and Youth along with overall guidance on vision from the UNFPA Head of Office. |
| Expected travel: | Travel to Turkmenistan is expected from 2 to 6 December 2024. Travel costs will be covered according to the UNFPA’s Duty Travel Policy. |
| Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements: |
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| Inputs / services to be provided by UNFPA or implementing partner (e.g support services, office space, equipment), if applicable: | UNFPA will provide the Consultant with the available materials, information and reports. However, additional information will be identified by the Consultant through reviews, working with specialists, other. |
| Other relevant information or special conditions, if any: | The consultancy fee will be calculated based on the P4 level of the UN Salary Scale for Professional and higher categories effective 1 January 2023 and will be paid in a lump sum upon successful completion of all deliverables. |
| UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Persons with disabilities, and individuals of other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. |
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