National Consultant to support the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) Thailand in the area of ending violence against women

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. 

UN Women is implementing an initiative funded by the EU, titled “PROTECT: Protection of the Rights of Women and Children in Labour Migration”.  Implemented through a partnership between the ILO, UN Women, UNODC and UNICEF, “PROTECT” will address women migrant workers’ vulnerabilities to violence, trafficking and labour exploitation, with financial support of the European Union. UN Women programming is focusing on project implementation in Cambodia and Thailand, with ASEAN engagement. 

The PROTECT project will promote decent work, while reducing the vulnerabilities of women and children in the context of labour migration, in particular through preventing and responding to violence against women and children, human trafficking and migrant smuggling. It will do this through addressing legal, policy and institutional gaps and barriers faced by women migrant workers and children in the context of labour migration, including in the protection of fundamental principles and rights at work, as well as enhance their access to safe, orderly, and regular migration by addressing violence, exploitation, forced labour and trafficking. To ensure that laws and policies can be effectively implemented, the project will enhance national and regional capacities and mechanisms for policy implementation to mitigate the risks of abuse and exploitation, service provision and prevention efforts, while empowering women and children to strengthen their voice, knowledge, skills and access to services. 

Within the PROTECT project, UN Women is leading the focus areas on response to and prevention of violence against women. This will include developing and supporting multidisciplinary response systems, national plans and strategies, and support cooperation among diverse stakeholders linking violence against women and children, labour migration and trafficking thematic areas. 

To support the implementation of the planned project activities under the Output 1.2: “Strengthened capacities of competent regional and national institutions for the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of regional and national frameworks on prevention and response to violence against women, including migrants.” UN Women is planning to hire a national consultant to provide technical support to the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) Thailand in the area of ending violence against women, including women migrant workers.   

The consultant will be supervised by the Ending Violence against Women (EVAW) Programme Specialist in the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. The deliverables and the performance of the consultant will be closely coordinated and validated with the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) Thailand. 

Description of Responsibilities and Scope of Work

Under the direct supervision of the Ending Violence against Women (EVAW) Programme Specialist in the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and in close coordination with the ACWC Thailand representative, the incumbent shall be responsible for the following tasks:

1.Facilitate and ensure close coordination with ASEAN in the domain of ending violence against women and girls, with a particular emphasis on the development of the forthcoming ten-year RPA on EVAW 2026-2035.

Key activities include:

• Support the coordination of the ASEAN 10-year RPA on EVAW by working closely with ACWC representatives, the ASEAN Secretariat, the Technical Working Group and UN Women to define timelines, key action steps and follow up processes.
• Provide technical support to ACWC Thailand by synthesizing and analyzing data, and information on laws and policy frameworks to address violence against women, including migrant women among others. 
• Assist with policy research by gathering and summarizing relevant reports, legislation, and best practices related to EVAW, with a focus on supporting ACWC Thailand's initiatives within ASEAN. Assist in the development and maintenance of shared monitoring tools and calendar to track project progress, key events, activities, and forthcoming consultations related to EVAWG initiatives.
• Assist in drafting policy briefs and knowledge products by