UN Women: Access to Justice Consultant, Soim Wokabaut: EU Gender Based Violence Referral Pathways Program, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, International Consultant, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

## UN Women: Access to Justice Consultant, Soim Wokabaut: EU Gender Based Violence Referral Pathways Program, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, International Consultant, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea - Organization:UN Women - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women - Country:Papua New Guinea - Office:UN-Women Port Moresby 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. Gender inequality in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is severe, with the country ranked 169 out of 170 globally. Women and girls face high rates of gender-based violence (GBV) and low literacy levels. The DHS 2016-2018 indicates that 54% of women have experienced GBV in the past year, and nearly 23% of women aged 15-49 have no formal education. Structural barriers, cultural norms, and weak protection systems worsen the situation. Tribal conflicts, sorcery accusation-related violence (SARV), and small arms proliferation, especially in the Highlands, increase violence. Despite policies to reduce discrimination, comprehensive strategies are urgently needed to address these issues and achieve gender equality. Additionally, ongoing conflicts have displaced communities, further exacerbating GBV incidents. The persistence of these challenges highlights the critical need for targeted interventions to promote social stability and human rights and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly 05 on gender equality, 10 Reduce Inequality and 16 Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions. Building on the gains of the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative to Eliminate Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in Papua New Guinea (PNG), UN Women, UNFPA and UNOPS (Agencies) have commenced implementation of a joint initiative entitled “Soim Wokabout: Gender-Based Violence Referral Pathways Programme”, financed under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI Global Europe). The joint programme aims to reduce the incidence of GBV in communities in target provinces, including in and out of schools (Eastern Highlands and the National Capital District). This will capitalize on existing programmes addressing specific forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHRs) while supporting prevention and protection efforts for GBV survivors, strengthening access to justice, and ending violence against women and girls at national, provincial, district, and community levels. It seeks to scale up effective integrated approaches to deliver quality coordinated services, strengthen referral pathways, mobilize communities and networks to address harmful gender and social norms fuelling GBV and SARV and promote implementation of laws and policies to reduce GBV and SARV while mobilizing national, provincial and community leadership on the programme's investments to enhance sustainability. It also aims to ensure that the proposed interventions are aligned with Papua New Guinea's constitutional and legislative framework and comply with the State's obligations under applicable international human rights treaties, including CEDAW, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The joint programme's specific objectives are: 1. To increase access of women, men, girls and boys in all their diversity, experiencing gender-based violence, to essential quality services, protection and justice. 2. To improve advocacy and agency of civil society organisations, women's rights organisations, social movements and communities to end gender-based violence (GBV). 3. To make more effective the engagement of community leaders, male advocates and influential groups and actors in society in changing discriminatory social norms, gender stereotypes, GBV and harmful practices. UN Women PNG seeks an International Consultant with specialized expertise in enhancing the institutional capacity of medical, legal and police service providers to deliver survivor-centred, gender-responsive and coordinated services. The intervention also seeks to improve women's and girls' access to justice through strengthened referral pathways, quality probing/investigative services, rehabilitation support and psychosocial services. A critical challenge identified during the programme's inception is the weak medical-legal link in the justice referral pathway. Poor medical records, inaccurate evidence, and the non-appearance of medical workers to testify in court have led to low conviction rates for sexual violence cases. Furthermore, user fees for medical examinations and reports act as a significant barrier to survivors seeking justice. Against this background, this consultancy aims at strengthening the capacity of medical, legal and police institutions to provide coordinated, survivor-centred and gender-responsive responses to violence against women and girls, while improving access to justice and essential support services, including investigative (probing), rehabilitation and psychosocial services. Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work This assignment is based in Port Moresby with expected travel to the field. The Consultant will provide technical legal advice to strengthen compliance of medico-legal procedures with national legislation, evidentiary requirements and international human rights standards to improve the admissibility and reliability of evidence in GBV and SARV cases and improve access to justice. Under the overall leadership of the Country Representative and direct supervision of the Deputy Country Representative the National Consultant will provide expert technical assistance and guidance through performing the following key tasks and delivery of the expected results. Throughout the consultancy, the consultant will receive support from UN Women EVAW team and input from the implementing agencies - UN Women, UNFPA and UNOPS where necessary. The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks: Task 1:Inception, planning and stakeholder engagement - Conduct consultations with key stakeholders, including police, prosecution, judiciary, health authorities, legal aid providers, social welfare and civil society organizations. - Review existing policies, protocols, standard operating procedures and training materials relating to violence against women and girls. Task 2: Conduct institutional capacity assessment - Conduct a rapid institutional capacity assessment identifying strengths, gaps and priority capacity development needs. - Conduct consultations with Department of Justice and Attorney General (DJAG), PNG Law Society, Office of the Public Prosecutor (OPP) and Office of the Public Solicitor (OPS). - Conduct a rapid assessment of rehabilitation and psychosocial support services in the target provinces to identify availability, coverage gaps, referral practices, cost barriers and compliance with survivor-centred standards, validated with the provincial FSV Committee. - Develop or adapt a comprehensive capacity strengthening package covering: - Survivor-centered and trauma-informed approaches; - Gender-responsive investigation and evidence collection; - Medical-legal documentation and forensic procedures; - Referral pathways and case coordination; - Psychosocial support and rehabilitation services; - Ethical standards, confidentiality and informed consent; - National laws and international human rights standards. - Facilitate capacity strengthening workshops for medical personnel, police officers, legal practitioners and other relevant service providers. Task 3. Delivery of capacity strengthening workshops and institutional action plans - Design and deliver Pre and posttest evaluation to