Consultancy to perform a review and update the Gender-Based Violence (GBV)/Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Awareness in the training curriculum for pre-service and in-service teachers and school leaders/administrators - Spotlight Initiative

THE UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND (UNFPA)

Sub-regional Office for the Caribbean invites applications from suitably qualified individuals

PURPOSE OF CONSULTANCY

The consultant will perform a review and update Gender-Based Violence (GBV)/Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) Awareness in the training curriculum for pre-service and in-service teachers and school leaders/ administrators.

BACKGROUND

The Spotlight Initiative (SI) is a global, multi-year partnership between the European Union and the United Nations to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG). In recognition of the alarming levels of violence against women and girls in Jamaica, the Government of Jamaica, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN) system in Jamaica launched the collaborative effort to combat this threat to sustainable development in the country. The Spotlight Initiative directly contributes to the achievement of three of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Goal 5 on Gender Equality, Goal 3 on Good Health, and Well-being and Goal 16 on Inclusive and Peaceful Societies.

In the context of the Spotlight Initiative and, according to 2015 Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines for Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings, gender-based violence (GBV)1 is an umbrella term for any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and that is based on socially ascribed (i.e. gender) differences between males and females. It includes acts that inflict physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion, and other deprivations of liberty. These acts can occur in public or in private.

Family violence (FV) covers physical, social, sexual, economic, and emotional abuse and acts of abuse and aggression within relationships that are considered as family connections or akin to family connection. It includes married couples, intimate partners whether living together or dating, and violence between parents and children. Family violence is gender-based, with the most prevalent form of violence within the family being violence against women and girls. The Spotlight Initiative offers a valuable prospect to mitigate family violence that is a significant public health and development issue with major consequences at the individual, community, and national levels. The social and cultural acceptance of family violence embed the norms, attitudes and behaviours inculcated within the family, reinforcing violence as a norm.

In Jamaica, notwithstanding progress made in advancing gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment, gender discrimination, including its worst manifestation and forms, such as violence against women and girls, continue to adversely impact all the dimensions of sustainable development. The country has the second highest rate of femicide – intentional homicide of females - in the world, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Topping the list was El Salvador with 13.9 out of every 100,000 women murdered in 2017, followed by Jamaica with 11 per 100,000 in the same year. The femicide epidemic threshold rate established by the World Health Organization is 10 murders per 100,000. Jamaica is therefore at epidemic level. By contrast, a regional comparison showed rates of 6.6 for Trinidad and Tobago, 5.6 for Grenada, 2.6 for Guyana, and 2 for Barbados, respectively.

According to the 2016 Women's Health Survey, one in four Jamaican women have suffered physical violence at the hands of their partner. In some communities, rates are reportedly as high as 60 per cent. The explanatory factors include the commonplace patriarchal views of masculinity, in which some men perceive themselves to be in a position of power, control and dominance over women. According to the 2016 Jamaica Women's Health Survey, 70 per cent of the persons sampled believe that the man is the head of a household, and that the place of a woman is to do the domestic work and raise children.

Increasingly, however, women in Jamaica have made advances in academic achievement and are becoming more economically empowered and independent. This perceived disruption of traditional roles can result in anger and frustration on the part of men. In this context, without conflict resolution and anger management skills, violence may become the default response in a dispute.

The Spotlight Initiative in Jamaica addresses three key priority areas within family violence against women and girls: 1) Child Sexual Abuse, 2) Intimate Partner Violence and 3) Discrimination against vulnerable groups. The approach is being guided by the core principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – Leaving No One Behind and underpinned by an intersectional approach that will ensure that interventions address key social factors such as gender, socio-economic status, age, sexual orientation and gender identity, HIV status, disability, and rural-urban location.

The main Spotlight Initiative objectives are:

1. To contribute to the reduction of family violence against women and girls and
2. To improve access for women and girls to essential, safe, adequate, integrated gender-responsive services

Founded on the socio-ecological model for addressing sexual and gender based violence, the six outcome areas of the Spotlight Initiative are: 

• Pillar One: Legislative and Policy Frameworks
• Pillar Two: Strengthening Institutions
• Pillar Three: Prevention and Social Norms
• Pillar Four: Delivery of Quality, Essential Services
• Pillar Five: Data Availability and Capacities
• Pillar Six: Supporting the Women’s Movement and CSO

The vision of the Jamaica Spotlight Initiative is that the rights of women and girls to live free from violence are protected, promoted, and upheld. The impact that the Spotlight Initiative works towards achieving is that all women and girls, particularly those who are most vulnerable, live a life free from violence and harmful practices. The Spotlight Initiative in Jamaica contributes to transforming the society where women and girls can live free from family violence. It aims at addressing the issue of the normalization of violence in Jamaica, and have society see family violence as a public issue.

While the Initiative takes a women and girls-centred approach (the group mainly exposed to vulnerability), important efforts are being made to engage men and boys to address the toxic masculinity that is deeply embedded in the society. Collaboration is taking place to bring into the discourse non-traditional actors, such as rural women and girls, groups representing women with HIV and disabilities, sex workers, LGBTQI networks, among others.

Implementation is being led by several UN agencies, working closely with the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports as well as other government entities such as the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Information (MOEYI) as well as civil society organizations (CSOs). The four parishes in which Spotlight focuses are Kingston and St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Clarendon, and Westmoreland.

Schools and other educational institutions are not insulated from the cultural norms, traditions, societal behaviours, laws, and government policies that occur in the country and the community. They are also not isolated from the individual experiences of students, teachers, and staff both outside and inside schools and other educational institutions. In the absence of pre-service and in-service teachers trained in integrated, comprehensive GBV/VAWG awareness, schools and other educational institutions can tacitly normalise and bolster harmful gender norms. They can legitimise a violent environment both in and outside the classroom by using patriarchal authoritarian pedagogy that strengthens the unequal power balance between different categories of women and girls as well as men and boys by not properly addressing sexualized bullying and by permitting corporal punishment. Schools can reinforce traditional gender norms by which the expectations of men and boys are that they should be strong, respond with violence, or apply to male dominated economic sectors. Women, on the other hand, may be expected to be passive, submissive and apply to female dominated sectors. It is therefore necessary to address gender norms at all levels and across multiple settings to prevent, mitigate and respond to GBV/VAWG in schools and the society at large.

Schools, from primary level to higher educational institutions, vocational training, and non-formal education, are important sites for normative change and have the potential to address gender inequalities and prevent, mitigate, and respond to GBV/VAWG. It is important that schools actively promote a gender equal, respectful, non-violent culture with gender aware pedagogy amongst teachers, students, and other staff. High-quality, gender sensitive, GBV/VAWG aware education has the potential to create young people as change agents and can confer the necessary gender transformation to end GBV/VAWG.
 

Scope of work – inter alia

The review and update of GBV/VAWG Awareness in the teacher training curriculum will strengthen the capacity of pre-service and in-service teachers and school leaders/ administrators and is an essential part of implementation of Activity 2.1.4. In turn, trained teachers, school leaders and administrators will be able to reach in-school and out-of-school youth with various intersectionalities, including different gender identities; adolescent mothers; adolescents living with HIV; adolescents with a disability; and adolescents living in slums and rural areas, to the extent possible. They will also have heightened awareness of the importance of making appropriate referrals into the GBV referral pathway.

Training teachers, school leaders, and administrators in awareness of gender-based violence can play an essential role in addressing violence against women and girls in and out of schools and communities. Here are some ways that training can help:

• Identifying and reporting cases of gender-based violence: Teachers, school leaders, and administrators can be trained to identify signs of gender-based violence and understand the importance of reporting such cases to appropriate authorities. By strengthening their oversight, management, and reporting of incidents, they can help ensure that survivors receive support and that perpetrators are held accountable.
• Creating safe and inclusive learning environments: Training can help teachers and school leaders create safe and inclusive learning environments where all students feel comfortable and respected. By promoting positive attitudes towards gender equity and non-violent behaviour, they can help prevent gender-based violence.
• Educating students about gender-based violence: Teachers can incorporate lessons on gender-based violence into their curriculum, raising awareness among students about what constitutes violence and how to prevent it. This can help students develop the skills to recognize and report abuse.
• Encouraging community involvement (including for in and out of school children): Schools can engage with parents, civil society organizations and law enforcement agencies to raise awareness about gender-based violence and develop strategies to prevent it. By involving the wider community, schools can create a network of support for survivors of violence and help break the cycle of abuse.
• Overall, training teachers, school leaders, and administrators in awareness of gender-based violence can help create a safer and more equitable learning environment and contribute to the prevention of violence against women and girls in and out of schools as well as in the wider community.

The expected results are as follows:

Expected result 1:
A training curriculum for pre-service and in-service teachers and school leaders/ administrators that integrates GBV/VAWG awareness comprehensively is developed and validated. 

Expected result 2:
A comprehensive training package including training modules with Learning Outcomes and Assessment Tools (including monitoring and evaluation) to implement the updated curriculum is developed, validated, and pilot tested.

The basic training for all pre-service and in-service teachers and school leaders/ administrators should include, at a minimum, guiding principles; goals and activities of GBV/VAWG programming; and a review of GBV/VAWG and gender issues relevant to the education sector. Pre-service and in-service teachers and school leaders/ administrators should be trained about the importance of a human rights and survivor-centred framework and be encouraged to reflect on their own attitudes and beliefs related to gender, GBV/VAWG, and family violence. The GBV referral pathway being advanced under the Spotlight Initiative should also form a part of the training.

Expected result 3:
An advocacy strategy to promote the uptake and scale-up of the updated curriculum for pre-service and in-service teachers and school leaders/administrators that integrates GBV/VAWG comprehensively is developed and implemented.
 

Submission Details

Interested Individual Consultants should submit their Application packages by Thursday, May 11, 2023 23:59 Hrs (EST) by email to vacancy.sroc@unfpa.org ONLY and register in UNFPA Consultants Roster via this link: http://consultantroster.unfpa.org.  

To apply, kindly submit application letter and CV to:

Vacancy #: 2023/SPCCL-001

The Spotlight Initiative

14-20 Port Royal Street, Kingston
Email:  vacancy.sroc@unfpa.org

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Note:

• There is no application, processing or other fee at any stage of the application process. 
• UNFPA does not solicit or screen for information in respect of HIV or AIDS and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status. 
• UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, teamwork, respect for diversity, integrity and a healthy balance of work and life. We are committed to maintaining our balanced gender distribution and therefore encourage women to apply.