Background:
UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.
Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.
Women’s leadership and political participation is one of UN Women’s primary areas of work as mandated in its inception, recognizing the integral role of women in strong and stable democratic processes. To promote the leadership and participation of women in all levels of decision-making processes, UN Women works with a range of stakeholders including women leaders and aspiring candidates, women holding a particular elected office bound at local and national levels, national parliaments and parliamentarians, political parties, media, civil society organizations, and electoral management bodies, in coordination with UN partner Entities, through a wide range of interventions which include: i) support gender responsive legal reforms, and institutional processes to advance women’s participation and representation (including initiatives to address violence against women in politics); ii) build capacities of women leaders, office holders and aspiring candidates; iii) promote change of gender norms through advocacy and outreach initiatives targeting communities, political leaders and the media; iv) and support women leaders in gender responsive political institutions.
Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWP) undermines the integrity of electoral processes and the quality of democratic governance. It is a violation of political and human rights that seeks to exclude, silence, or discourage women from fully participating in public life. VAWP affects voters, candidates, office holders, election officials, activists and security and political professionals worldwide, occurring both online and offline. This phenomenon seeks to “silence women’s voices in decision-making bodies by preventing them from exercising their political mandates, preventing them from seeking leadership positions in the legislature, forcing them to resign before the end of a full term of office, discouraging attendance in parliamentary sessions, enforcing exclusion and marginalization within parliament and committee and compelling them to not seek re-election.” Thus, VAWP not only affects women in politics but also negatively impacts the work of political institutions (e.g. political parties, parliaments, local government) and impedes gender-responsive inclusive governance.
Despite its wide-reaching consequences, data on the prevalence and forms of VAWP remain limited, hindering the development of effective institutional responses. In Liberia, VAWP manifests in various forms, including psychological intimidation, physical and sexual violence, and online harassment. Ahead of the 2023 elections, women candidates participating in UN Women-led events reported incidents of harassment and threats. In some rural areas, traditional leaders reportedly invoked the “Poro devil,” threatened forced initiation, or accused women of witchcraft to deter them from seeking leadership roles. Online abuse is also rising, with women targeted by harassment, defamation, and digital threats, an emerging form of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV). There have also been instances where violence against female candidates occurred in public settings, drawing national attention and underscoring the risks women face when engaging in electoral processes. A 2024 Public Perceptions of Elections and Women Political Participation in Liberia (2024, revealed that 48% of respondents were aware of such violence. Among them, 22% had heard of incidents, 12% had witnessed them, 8% knew someone affected, and 6% had experienced it themselves. The most reported forms included physical violence (50%), psychological violence (37%), and sexual violence (9%).
Ahead of 2023 election, UN Women Liberia, in collaboration with its partners, including National Elections Commission (NEC) - Liberia implemented various targeted interventions to address violence against women in politics and in elections. These efforts included supporting the institutionalization of Violence Against Women in Elections and Politics Protocol, organizing awareness-raising events, informational materials and media campaigns, and engaging relevant stakeholders to promote zero tolerance for VAWP. These efforts aimed to improve understanding of VAWP and enhance the protection of women in political life.
In this context, under the Liberia Electoral Support Project (LESP), funded by European Union, Government of Sweden and Ireland, UN Women, is conducting an assessment on Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWP), to document and assess the experiences of women in politics and public life. The assessment will focus on elected women leaders, former candidates, women in executive roles, and members of political parties at both national and local levels. The assessment’s findings will fill critical data gaps, providing an evidence base to inform institutional responses, policies, and programming in the next electoral cycle (2029). It aligns with the lessons learned from the 2023 elections and the mid-term evaluation of LESP, and will contribute to stronger prevention, monitoring, and accountability mechanisms. The results will support the work of UN agencies, electoral institutions, policymakers, and civil society in creating a safer and more inclusive political environment for women in Liberia.
The Assessment aims to address the following objectives:
Under this TOR, based on the context above, UN Women Liberia Country Office is looking to recruit a lead International Consultant knowledgeable of VAWP issues, context, including research background, to lead the assessment working closely with a national consultant.
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
The International Consultant is expected to have strong expertise in gender equality, with a specific focus on Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWP), and a solid background in research. Serving as the lead technical expert, the consultant will oversee the overall coordination, methodology design, data analysis, and reporting.
The international consultant will also lead fieldwork in Montserrado County, while the national consultant will lead qualitative data collection in five additional counties (Nimba, Lofa, Gbarpolu, Bong, and Sinoe), and provide contextual insights to support the broader analysis. The consultant will work under the supervision of the Programme Specialist for Women’s Political Participation and in close collaboration with the UN Women HQ technical team.
Task 1: Overall coordination and delivery of the Assessment on Violence Against Women in Politics in Liberia
Task 2: The design and execution of the qualitative components of the National Assessment on Violence Against Women in Politics in Liberia
Background research and review of legislative and policy framework on VAWP in Liberia
Preliminary qualitative research and scope validation
Qualitative data collection
Task 3: Preparation of a comprehensive report and advocacy materials
Task 4: Liaise with national and local stakeholders and experts to ensure their buy-in and participation in the implementation of the assessment and dissemination of its findings
Coordinate the Reference Group composed national stakeholders relevant to acting on violence against women in politics
Dissemination and Launching of the report
Deliverables:
Deliverables of the International Consultant under Task 1, & 2
Deliverables of the International Consultant under Task 3
Deliverables of the International Consultant under Task 4:
Duration of assignment
It is anticipated the assignment will take up 60 working days over a period of 5 months.
TaskAnticipated
number of days Task 1: Support overall coordination and undertaking of the Assessment on Violence Against Women in Politics in Liberia 15 Task 2: Lead the design and implementation of the qualitative components of the National Assessment on Violence Against Women in Politics (VAWP) in Liberia 25 Task 3: Preparation of comprehensive report and advocacy materials 10 Task 4: Liaise with national and local stakeholders and experts to ensure their buy-in and participation in the implementation of the assessment and dissemination of its findings 10 Total number of days anticipated 60
Deliverable
Payment for this consultancy will be based on the achievement of each deliverable and certification that each has been satisfactorily completed. Payment will be based on relevant annexes as supporting documents for the achievement of deliverables.
S. No Deliverables Target Date % of Payment 1 Detailed workplan and timeline; Inception report including proposed methodology and tools for preliminary qualitative data collection, initial literature and policy review, and draft outline of the final report End of Month 110%
Up on submission of Inception report.
2 Mapping of existing data collection approaches on VAWP in Liberia; Review of legislative and policy framework; Transcripts/notes from preliminary qualitative research; Interview guide; Qualitative data collection plan End of Month 3 3 Cleaned transcripts/data from main qualitative data collection; summary of emerging findings and lessons learned note End of Month 5 50% 4 Comprehensive final report (50–70 pages) integrating all findings; Advocacy materials including one main brief and five short briefs; Dissemination plan End of Month 6 40% 5 Meeting summaries from Reference Group and national workshop; Communications materials (e.g. human-interest stories); Inputs to lessons learned documentation End of Month 6Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy with a field mission limited to Montserrado Country. Travel dates will be determined during the inception phase. Fieldwork outside Montserrado Country will be conducted by the national consultant.
UN Women inputs:
[1] A Technical Team comprising of UN Women Liberia Country Office, UN Women HQ and the International and National Consultant will be formed at the beginning of the project to provide strategic oversight and quality assurance of the study.
[2] The final report must be rendered publication-ready, commensurate with what an experienced professional editor can offer. The term “publication-ready” shall mean that the final report respects the formatting conventions specified by UN Women and is devoid of typographical, spelling and grammatical mistakes. The final report must also be written in clear, correct and readable language.
Competencies :
Core Values:
Core Competencies:
Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:
Functional Competencies::
Education and Certification:
Experience:
Languages: Fluency in English is required.
How to Apply (submit all in a single file)
Statements :
In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.
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Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.