Consultancy – FATE Project Strategic Advocacy

ASF IS LOOKING FOR; 

A NATIONAL CONSULTANT TO UNDERTAKE A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY  ON COURT JUDGMENTS RELATED TO ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR WOMEN  IN UGANDA, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON GBV CASES

Project 

From Access to Equality(FATE): Empowering women to access justice in Uganda

Objective of the assignment 

To analyze the legal and policy issues related to access to justice for women with a particular focus on GBV cases that will inform strategic advocacy at different levels. 

Profile of the consultant

• The consultant should have the following skills and experience:  
• Master’s degree in law and/or human rights or any  relevant field;  
• Experience working on access to justice, gender-related  projects;  
• 5 years or more working experience in conducting research, preferably in the access to justice sector. 4. Familiarity, contextual knowledge of, and experience working with the judiciary in Uganda. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills and proven ability to  multitask and work under tight deadlines 
• Proficiency in English

Availability 

• 30 working days from (1st August to 30th August 2024)

ASF Contact  and  deadline

• Applicants should submit the following documents by  Wednesday 17th July 2024 by 12;00 noon. The following  documents should be submitted; 
• A cover letter 
• A CV demonstrating relevant skills and experience and  names of at least 2 references, preferably from organizations with which the consultant has conducted similar types of work.  
• Indicative budget for consultant fees and field costs  detailing the activities, number of days, and daily rate  (Fees should be inclusive of all taxes as per the Income  Tax Act Cap 340 and quoted in UGX) 
• Technical proposal 
• Sample of similar work done in the past (optional)  
• Declare availability between July and August 2024.  

The documents should be submitted to oug-job@asf.be and copy bataro@asf.be under the subject line Consultancy – FATE Project Strategic Advocacy. 

Overview of Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) 

ASF is an independent international non-governmental organization founded in  Belgium in 1992, whose mission is to contribute to the establishment of institutions and mechanisms that allow for access to independent and impartial justice, and which are capable of guaranteeing the protection of fundamental rights (civil and political,  economic and social), including the right to a fair trial.  

For more than 20 years, ASF has been implementing programs with the aim to facilitating access to justice for the most vulnerable population in fragile states or transition contexts, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, Tunisia,  Morocco, Kenya. For more information, visit www.asf.be 

About the Project  

The project From Access to Equality (FATE) - Empowering Women to Access  Justice in Uganda is a four-year project implemented under a consortium of four partners; Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF), BarefootLaw (BFL), Penal Reform  International (PRI) and Uganda Women’s Network (UWONET). Its geographical  scope 

is in three priority areas: Northern Uganda (Gulu, Lamwo); Eastern Uganda (Kamuli,  Namutumba, Jinja, Mbale, Soroti) and Karamoja (Moroto, Napak); and Western  Uganda (Hoima, Masindi). 

The project’s goal is to contribute towards “women and girls being empowered to pursue justice in an environment that serves their needs”. This is supported by two specific objectives, including that “women are in a position to demand justice”  (SO1) and “decision makers mobilize to make women and girls’ rights effective”  (SO2).

To achieve this, the following result areas have been developed:

Expected Result 1.1: Women are legally empowered to act 

Expected Result 2.1: Legal aid and protection services are improved and tailored  to respond to women and girls’ access to justice needs 

Expected Result 2.2: Institutions are accountable for protecting and promoting  women and girls’ rights 

For further information on the project, a full version of the project proposal along  with relevant documents will be shared with the selected candidate. 

Purpose of the assignment  

Avocats Sans Frontières seeks to recruit an external consultant to undertake a  comprehensive study on court judgments related to access to justice for women in  Uganda, with a particulaar focus on GBV cases, and to develop an issue paper and a  resource of FAQs based on the findings. 

1. Objective 

The main pbjective of the activity is to analyse the legal and policy issues related to  access to justice for women with a particular focus on GBV cases that will inform  strategic advocacy at different levels.  

Specific Objectives  

To analyse the implementation and interpretation of court judgement in  relation to GBV cases.  

Identify trends, patterns, and gaps in the adjudication of these cases. ∙ To identify policy and advocacy issues emerging from the respective  judgements.  

Methodology  

This research will be conducted by an external consultant. The consultant will be in  charge of the entire study inclusive of data collection, report writing, drafting the  issue paper as well as the FAQ’s report.  

The consultant is expected to use a mixed-methods approach, including: 

1. Document Review: Examine relevant legal documents, court records, and case  law to establish a foundational understanding of the judicial handling of GBV  cases. A compilation of judgements shall be developed through this process.  Qualitative and quantitative analysis shall be conducted on the secondary data  extracted from the compilation of judgements to identify patterns and themes  in court judgments, conviction rates, sentencing disparities, and case  durations.

2. Stakeholder Consultations: Conduct interviews and focus group discussions  with stakeholders to contextualize findings and gather experiential data 

Upon conclusion of the research, the consultant is expected to develop a report, and  issue paper with targeted recommendation to the different stakeholders.  An FAQ document containing FAQ’s on GBV will be developed to synthesize findings  into an accessible format, creating a resource that addresses procedural and  substantive questions women, prosecutors, judicial officers, police might have about  accessing justice in GBV cases. 

After the study report, a dissemination and advocacy strategy will be developed in  consultation with the communications officer; informed by the recommendations  from the findings. The engagements will include a media campaign to disseminate  the issues and engage with different stakeholders. 

Timeline and Deliverables 

ASF expects the following deliverables from the selected consultant:  ∙ An inception report detailing the literature review, methodology, tools and  timeline  

• Submit all data to ASF, including copies of the final datasets and hard copies  of the collection instruments 
• Final report  
• Issue paper with actionable recommendations  
• FAQs document  

All deliverables of the evaluation mission will be handed over and finalized before 31st August 2024. The assignment will take place for a period of 30 working days.  

Conditions of the mission 

This call for application is open to both national service providers. All applicants must  submit technical and financial proposals via email (see “ASF Contacts and  deadlines”). Payment shall be made based on deliverables as per ASF’s consultancy  rates which inform the Agreement.