Terms of Reference

Terms of Reference

Consultancy service for a policy review to analyse legal implication in social norms transformation in Nepal

1.  Background

VSO has been in Nepal since 1964 and currently implementing its programmes in 20 districts of five Provinces. Currently, VSO Nepal programme focuses on Education, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Youth, Livelihoods, Gender & Inclusion, Governance, Climate Change and Resilience. Through Volunteering for Development (VFD) approach, VSO aims to be more responsive to and actively engaged in supporting disadvantaged groups.

VSO’s Strengthening Access to Holistic, Gender Responsive, and Accountable Justice in Nepal (SAHAJ) aims to reduce vulnerability towards different forms of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) particularly against Women and Girls, break the culture of silence around GBV and increase access to security and justice services. This is a consortium project led by Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) with International Alert (IA) and partners namely Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD); Antenna Foundation Nepal (AFN); Emory University; SAMAGRA and MAHURI Home. SAHAJ is one of the projects within UKAID’s Integrated Programme for Strengthening Security and Justice (IP-SSJ). The project covers a total of 13 districts in Province 2 and 5.

SAHAJ project since its inception has designed and delivered tailored activities aiming to transform harmful social norms related to GBV in the communities. Along with the field level activities, the project has been advocating to influence the policy to effectively implement the legal measures to efficient justice deliveries particularly to vulnerable women and girls. With the new constitution, the legal measures in Nepal are progressive to contribute to transforming the harmful norms such as criminalising discriminatory practices such as child marriages, dowry practice, menstrual practices, GBV and caste-based discriminations. However, the implementation of those legal measures is seen as feeble. The existing law can regulate the social norms in the following ways.

• Criminalization or decriminalization of particular social norms
• Protection, or lack of protection, from harmful social norms
• Protections relating to equality and non-discrimination
• Rights protections and recognitions

Some pieces of evidence show that the legal measures have been able to aware of the communities that some practices such as early marriages, dowry practice is a crime (SAHAJ baseline report, 2020). However, the cases of GBV is increasing and the harmful social norms that are classified as a crime are still being practised.

To further explore the legal implication on social norms transformation in Nepal, VSO Nepal is looking for a more in-depth policy analysis that identifies how the existing law is contributing to transform harmful social norms around GBV and discriminatory practices against women and girls. Further, this study also intends to identify the existing legal aspects that are reinforcing the harmful Social Norms.

2.  Objective of the Assignment:

The main objectives of this policy review should serve are as follows:

• To identify and analyse the existing law contributing to address the harmful social norms transformation.
• To identify the existing legal aspects that are reinforcing the harmful social norms.
• To critically reflect and examine the legal gaps to transform the harmful social norms in Nepal.
• To identify the challenges of legal implementation against harmful social norms in Nepal.
• To recommend future strategies for JSPs, a project delivering organisations and legal experts to address the harmful social norms and practices through law.

3.  Methodology:

Desk review (doctrinal research), KII and consultation meeting with Lawyer/legal experts, Human Rights activists, and parliamentarians.

4.  Study ethics and safeguarding

This study will strictly follow VSO’s rigorous ethics and safeguarding approach to research, which provides for participants’ protection from any form of harm. To this end, in terms of procedural ethics, during the entirety of the research, the following will be ensured:

• Assent or consent status of participants
• Reminding participants of their right to withdraw from the study at anytime
• Making participants aware of their right to check how they are represented in transcripts/field notes

5.  Scope of work:

For this policy review the consultant/firm is expected to deliver (but not limited to) the following activities.

• Review of judicial decisions on reproductive health, witchcraft, dowry, superstitious menstrual practices, early marriage, rape, restriction in mobility and control over women and girls and other GBV related cases.
• Identify the KII participants, consultation meeting participants and parliamentarians as indicated in the methodology.
• Prepare an inception report that indicates the reporting outline, methodology and process of the review.
• After the study the consultant/firm will ensure the submission of i) policy brief, ii) highlight report and iii) a full report
• Organise a finding sharing workshop (with at least 30 participants representing from SAHAJ consortium, donor organisations, legal experts, human rights organisations and concerned representatives from the Government of Nepal.

6.  Outputs and deliverables

The following minimum deliverables are expected from the Consultant/firm:

7.  Reporting Line

The Consultant will work in close coordination with Research Manager - SAHAJ and reports to VSO Nepal’s Consortium Project Manager - SAHAJ.

8.  Equipment/Resources for the Assignment

No equipment to be purchased under this assignment. All logistics management is the responsibility of the consultant/firm. SAHAJ team will provide the following resources that are relevant for this study;

• Quarterly reports, case stories, reached data
• Reference data and analysis from SAHAJ midline and end line findings
• Relevant information/update for the scope of this work

9.  Required Qualifications and Experience

The principal investigator should meet the following criteria.

• Master’s in law with at least 10 years of experience in legal and policy research in Nepal.
• Previous demonstrated experience as a team leader, researcher, or consultant of similar studies.
• Demonstrated experience in legal policy reviews related to marginalized women and girls.

10.  Duration of Assignment

The consultancy period will be for two months effective from the contract signing date.

The consultant will submit a detailed work plan schedule which will be approved by VSO Nepal.

11.  Remuneration and Payment Procedures

The payment will be made directly to the bank account of the consultant or the firm. The schedule of payment for the work will be in two instalments and as follows:

The remuneration cost includes all the charges for the assignment including the KII, consultations and finding sharing workshop. Tax will be deducted at remuneration and paid by VSO at the source. In performing the service, the Consultant will act as an independent consultant and will not be deemed to be an employee or agent of VSON. The consultant will be bound by VSO’s safeguarding policy.

12.  Intellectual Property

The contract will be work for hire. Therefore, all planning and work products and all final outputs of this project will be the property of VSO. Except for purposes of this assignment, no information about the research may be disclosed or used by the consultant without the written permission of the VSO Nepal.

13.  Quality Assurance Procedures

The consultant/firm is required to set out their approach to ensuring complete compliance with international good practice with regards to ethics and protocols particularly with regards to safeguarding children, vulnerable groups, and those in fragile and conflict-affected states. Consideration should be given to:

• Administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the confidentiality of those participating in the News and Article related issues
• DO NO HARM to any lingual, sex, culture, and sovereignty with the content
• Data protection and secure maintenance procedures for personal information
• Age-appropriate assent processes based on reasonable assumptions about comprehension for the ages of children they intend to involve in the research.

14.  Application Procedure

• Consultant/Consultancy firms are required to submit the following:
• Letter of interest
• A technical proposal which includes objectives and method with a detailed timeline.
• CVs of principal investigator proposed for the project.
• At least two samples of previous work in line with the requirements of the ToR.
• Financial proposal indicating a consultancy fee and a breakdown of expenses including the finding sharing workshop.
• Copy of company registration certificate
• Copy of PAN/VAT registration certificate (Business PAN registration required for individual consultant)
• Latest Tax Clearance Certificate FY 076/77.

Interested and eligible Firms/individuals are requested to submit their letter of interest along with required documents as mentioned above on point no. 9 and 14 to email ID: procurement.nepal@vsoint.org no later than 5:00 pm, 25 March 2021.