TERMS OF REFERENCE 24 views

To conduct study on legal and enforcement gaps in references to    domestic violence, sexual harassment and acid attack in Addis Ababa, Adama and Bahiradar

Background

EWLA is a non-government and not-for-profit Association established in 1995 envisioning an Ethiopian Society where women enjoy equal rights with men.  The Association has three major programs: Legal aid, public education and capacity building, and Research and advocacy.

Since its establishment, EWLA has been providing legal aid service to women exposed to gender based violence butunable to afford legal aid service fee.  Moreover, it has made remarkable achievements in creating influence that led to amendment of existing and promulgation of new laws and policies favorable to women.  For instance, EWLA’s advocacy efforts have greatly contributed for realization of Revised Family law, Penal code, Pension Law and Sexual harassment guideline.

Even if the aforementioned efforts and achievements have made positive impacts on women’s lives, violence against women has still continued in different fashions.  Some of such challenges are tacit discrimination on women, enforcement gaps of women-specific laws and international legal instruments Ethiopia ratified, inconvenient and costly court practices, absence of clear legal provisions to govern newly emerging inhuman acts against women such as acid attacks, etc.

Though such tragic incidents have almost become parts of life since years, and EWLA has come across a range of hardships that obstruct its endeavor to realize women’s access to justice, it believes in securing comprehensive evidence to support such allegations before engaging in intensive advocacy for improved legal framework. Thus, our Association seeks professional service to make assessment on cases it received from three intervention areas (Addis Ababa City, Amhara and Oromia National Regional States).  The assessment will focus on internal (organizational) and external factors that affect women’s access to justice.  Hence, this TOR is developed to guide the assessment process. EWLA conducts this research with support from Civil society support program II (CSSP2).

Context of the Assessment

Legal advisors of EWLA counsel clients and represent them in courts when their cases are complicated.  Besides, the Association collaborates with its non-governmental partners and closely works with law enforcement organs to tackle multi-faceted issues that expose women to injustice. Therefore, in providing legal aid service, EWLA has come across different challenges that obstruct smooth process of ensuring justice for women and children.

Although it is obvious that these challenges emanate from different internal and external factors, so far, EWLA has no comprehensive and research-based findings that articulate root causes of the problems and recommend appropriate solutions.  Hence, the key reason for conducting the assessment is to pin point and substantiate factors alleged to have hindered women’s access to justice and come up with concrete issues for advocacy in legal reform and incite interest of the academia and/or other interested group for further researches.

General Objective

•  To examine the legal and law enforcement gaps in ensuring justice for women, particularly on Domestic violence, sexual Harassment and acid attack
• To assess GBV cases investigation and prosecution issues
• To assess challenges on referral linkage among police, health centers and shelters

Scope of the Task

This assessment is going to be conducted in three regions (Addis Ababa, Amhara and Oromia National Regional States) and cases handled by EWLA including the pending ones will be seen in light of current laws, policies and administrative procedures in the country and as per specific contexts of the aforementioned intervention areas.

Tasks of the Consultant

• An inception work plan within two weeks of commencement of the assignment.
• Document/case review
• Review of laws (both local and international legal instruments) and policies regarding women
• Conduct key informant interview(with Law enforcement organs, clients, EWLA staff, Women and Children’s Affairs Office, Addis Ababa City Women’s Association particularly for cases of survivors of gender based violence who were referred to the Association to get safe house/shelter service or other institutions EWLA contacts for referral linkage, such as psychosocial support, medical service etc.
• Review cases handled by EWLA that have got court decisions and the pending ones
• Compile findings to show strength, but more importantly gaps in laws, policies and practices of law enforcement organs
• Submit draft assessment report submit in hard and soft copies
• Present the research finding at validation workshop
• Incorporate comments of concerned staff of EWLA in the draft assessment document
• Submit final assessment document in hard and soft copies
• Based on the assessment, organize and develop comprehensive study result in English

Regular Updating for Quality Assurance

The consultant is expected to update duly assigned personnel of EWLA (Project Coordinator) every 5 days on progress of the task until it reaches the final version of the assessment.

Time of Delivery

First draft of the assessment is expected to be submitted within eight weeks that counts from the date an agreement will be signed between EWLA and the consulting firm and the final version is expected to be submitted in three days after incorporating comments given on the draft assessment document.

The contract period is three month from date of agreement with successful consultant

Deliverable Payment:

• Inception report 20%
• Progressive report  40%
• Submission of final document 40%