Consultancy - Sexual Violence Field Evaluation

Please note that the deadline for submitting full proposals is 8 June 2017. However, interested bidders must confirm the intention to bid by emailing Jeanne Lafarge (jlafarge@icrc.org) by 18 May 2017.

The full Request for Proposals along with the financial template and other documents necessary to submit full proposals will be shared with interested bidders upon the confirmation of the intention to bid.

Background

The work of the ICRC is based on the Geneva Conventions of 1949, their Additional Protocols, its Statutes – and those of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement – and the resolutions of the International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent. The ICRC is an independent, neutral organization ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence. It takes action in response to emergencies and at the same time promotes respect for international humanitarian law and its implementation in national law.

For more information, visit:

https://www.icrc.org/en/who-we-are/mandate

Recognizing the challenging nature of sexual violence, in particular the fact that it might often be “invisible” to humanitarian workers (due to taboo and stigma surrounding the issue, and possible fear of rejection or reprisals from survivors), in 2013, ICRC made a four year (2013-16) commitment to strenghten its response to the issue. Since this commitment, important progress has been made within the HQ and in the field with, among other things, an expansion of the number of multidisciplinary programs addressing sexual violence and increased number of delegations integrating the issue into their existing activities; and building staff capacity. The ICRC also supported the adoption of a joint Movement Resolution on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence during the 32nd International Conference.

Rationale and objective of the evaluation

The ICRC feels that the end of the four-year commitment marks an opportune time to conduct an evaluation of its work on sexual violence in ongoing programs. The evaluation will enable ICRC to draw lessons learned based on good practices and challenges.The primary objective of the proposed evaluation will be to help improve or reinforce the ICRC’s future practice and processes relating to ICRC’s multidisciplinary work on sexual violence.

In particular, ICRC’s ambition through this evaluation is to provide a clearer picture of the extent to which our activities are designed and carried out in a multidisciplinary way, looking both at preventive measures and responsive action taken to address the issue. Preventive measures might include engagement with authorities and weapon-bearers to change behavior, persuasion and support to improve legal frameworks, and activities to reduce risk, either by limiting the threat (for example, installing better lighting or water sources closer to community), or by enhancing communities’ capacities and supporting their coping mechanisms. Responsive action includes activities to protect the rights of victims, as well as provision of a range of services, including primary healthcare, psychosocial, and economic support to survivors of sexual violence.ICRC strives to provide victims of sexual violence with a full spectrum of services, either by directly providing these or by referring to third parties.

The propose evaluation will look at how this multidisciplinary approach works in practice, primarily from an internal ICRC perspective (that is, looking at whether, and to what extent, the existing ICRC activities are aligned and coordinated). It will also assess:

1/ the extent to which ICRC’s response fits into wider efforts to address sexual violence,

2/ how well the ICRC identifies the gaps in services provided by others and fills them in line with its mandate and added value, and

3/ how effectively the ICRC works with other actors to provide referrals and ensure victims of sexual violence.

It is also expected that this evaluation may produce findings and recommendations that can be of use to other ICRC multidisciplinary projects and programmes.It is also expected that this evaluation may produce findings and recommendations that can be of use to other ICRC multidisciplinary projects and programmes.

Scope of the evaluation

The proposed evaluation would entail carrying out an assessment in three ICRC field Delegations (exact countries to be confirmed). The evaluation will look at how these delegations have worked on sexual violence to understand the good practices, the main challenges faced by this work and draw general lessons learned.

The primary focus of the evaluation will be on the period between 2014 (following the PfR instructions to include sexual violence given in 2013) and 2016. Nonetheless, if interesting findings or lessons learned from the preceding period emerge, they will also be taken into consideration in the final report.

Evaluator Profile

The ICRC expects that the planned evaluation would typically require a team of two evaluators, at least one of whom would have strong expertise on the issue of sexual violence whereas the other one would have considerable experience in evaluating field-level impact of humanitarian programs.

Therefore, the ICRC is looking to recruit a team collectively fulfilling as many as possible of the below criteria:

· In-depth knowledge of the issue of sexual violence in conflict

· Experience in evaluating field-level impact of humanitarian projects/programmes, including, as an advantage, experience in integrating Accountability to Affected Populations, Core Humanitarian Standards or similar in evaluations;

· Experience working with international organizations. Experience working with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement experience would be an advantage;

· Experience in conducting evaluations with communities in conflict-affected/fragile contexts;

· Fluency in English and French; Arabic an advantage. The ICRC invites bids from companies and teams of consultants, who can offer a comprehensive set of the required expertise, as well as individuals, who can offer some of the required expertise and are happy to be paired up with candidates with complementary skills.

To apply, all interested bidders must first confirm their intention to bid by emailing Jeanne Lafarge (jlafarge@icrc.org) *by Thursday, 18 May.*

Upon the confirmation of the willingness to bid, the interested bidders will receive a package of documents necessary to submit full proposals.

Full proposals are due by Thursday, 8 June.