Request for Proposal (RFP) Prevent and Protect: Strengthening Access and Responses to GBV in Kaduna, Kano, and Sokoto States Nigeria at Neem Foundation

RFP Title:

Consultancy service to develop a comprehensive Gender-Based Violence, code of conduct training manual for law enforcement officials and public prosecutors

Background
Globally, the challenge of gender-based violence (GBV) remains pervasive, with as high as 38% of murders of women committed by an intimate partner1 and 35% of women2 having experienced some form of physical and/or sexual violence. In Africa, as in other regions, GBV is increasingly recognized as a grave challenge for public health and development, and as a violation of human rights. GBV perpetrated against women and girls is an extremely complex issue resulting from and perpetuated by societal, economic, and cultural factors.
In Nigeria, the Northeast insurgency, and the diminished state of human security across the country, particularly (and increasingly) in the Northwest, has compounded the incidence of GBV against women and girls, with little or no access to justice, protection, and support for most survivors. According to the National Demographic and
Health Survey (2018), over 3 in 10 women and girls have experienced some form of physical, mental, or sexual violence by age 15. When devolved by regions, however, the lack of reliable data makes it difficult to ascertain the scale and contextual factors that perpetuate the problem in communities of concern. In most situations, GBV cases go unreported or underreported due to fear of stigmatization, ridicule, victimization or punishment.

For women and girls displaced across many communities in the Northwest, violence has greatly extended pre- existing gender disparities that often prevent them from achieving their potential and agency. Thousands of women have been widowed and left as sole remaining breadwinners/heads of households in a context where they have little or no access to resources (land/property) and economic opportunities to provide for themselves and their families. Such vulnerable groups of women and girls are also confronted with inadequate food and non- food items, shelter, medical supplies, insufficient psychosocial support, and lack of critical protection materials, which exposes them to risks of survival sex and sexual exploitation. Moreover, attacks by various non-state armed groups frequently involve acts of gender-related violence, including the rape of women and girls, sexual assault and humiliation, forced marriages to members of armed groups, and kidnapping.
In addition, the absence of civilian and security authorities in some conflict-affected communities continues to drive the culture of impunity for perpetrators of GBV. The promulgation of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) (VAPP) Act 2015, which was hard won by gender activists and women’s groups, still does not afford women the institutional protection they need from GBV.

Poor coordination among stakeholders and poor implementation of legal frameworks, combined with entrenched gender discriminatory norms, has hampered government and civil society efforts to tackle GBV concerns. These efforts have been further complicated by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Issues of stress, loss of income, caring for vulnerable relatives, increased domestic responsibilities, and isolation have heightened tensions within households, compounding violent situations and exacerbating the risk of violence against women and girls. In such circumstances, it is not merely a case of increased proximity to perpetrators for vulnerable women and girls, but also decreased access to support networks and critical support services, both of which would otherwise serve
to reduce the effects and magnitude of violence. The pandemic has also caused the diversion of resources and priorities and resulted in a surge of reports of GBV because of the imposed lockdown by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Neem Foundation through a collaborative approach with Ford Foundation is implementing the Prevent and Protect programme in the Northwest region, aimed at strengthening the roles, actions, and capacity of key government agencies with the mandate to end all forms of violence against women and girls. Neem is doing this through increased collaboration between government and non-state actors, NGOs and CSOs to scale up efforts to report, document, provide access and respond to GBV cases.
This will be achieved through scaling up institutional capacity to provide improved Mental Health and Psychosocial Support to survivors, raising public awareness of the adverse effects of GBV on women and girls, advocate for the harmonization, implementation and passage of legislation that provide legal protection for GBV survivors and mandating the government to act. Also ensuring that there is a credible data management system to track, manage and evaluate GBV trends, and promote evidence-based programming and GBV response.
For the purpose of this TOR;
Law enforcement officials includes; Police, NAPTIP and NSCDC
Public prosecutors include; state judges and clerks
This Terms of Reference aims to provide a framework to develop a comprehensive GBV Code of Conduct Training Manual for law enforcement officials and public prosecutors.

Specific Activities:

• Undertake desk research and analyse all the necessary documents/ training modules, training materials to fully understand the situation and existing training materials available for training law enforcement officials and public prosecutors GBV; relevant national and international legislations and policies that have been signed/ ratified pertaining to GBV
• Carry out stakeholder analysis to bring out the roles and responsibilities of key players and institutions
• Carry out a gap analysis to identify gaps in the training being held on GBV. Map out the issues and identify the priorities in line with the objectives of the project.
• Develop a comprehensive training manual for Law enforcement officials and public prosecutors with a special focus on identification, investigation, prosecution of GBV offences and referrals for appropriate treatment and reintegration of victims including monitoring and follow-up.
• Share the draft training manual with Neem Foundation and key experts for their review; incorporate comments and finalize the manual
• Conduct a virtual training for a selected group of public prosecutors and law enforcement officials based on the developed manual and curriculum The training also intends to test the draft training material, which shall be revised based on the lessons learned/ feedback from the workshop.
• Provide interim and final reports, including recommendations for further training needs of the beneficiary, as well as development of the protocols and standard operating procedures (SOPs),
• submitted at the end of the assignment respectively.

Reporting
1. The selected Consultant must demonstrate the capacity to provide inception, interim and final report, which details the milestones achieved including challenges, lessons, and recommendations for
improvement. The timeline for the submission of the reports will be set out in the engagement contract given to the successful consultant.
2. Timesheets will be presented to the Programme Manager for their endorsement sign-off concerning the Level of Effort and Delivery of work.

View the Complete RFQ Here