Short-term consultant for sexual violence research in Pakistan

 Background

Equality Now, founded in 1992, is an international women’s rights organisation that works to achieve legal and systemic change that addresses violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world.

In 2021, Equality Now and Dignity Alliance International shared the report Sexual Violence in South Asia: Legal and Other Barriers to Justice for Survivors, examining the existing laws on sexual violence in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, with a special focus on marginalised communities. The report highlighted the barriers for survivors/victims to access justice while suggesting recommendations for change.  

Description of the Consultancy 

Equality Now is keen to pursue a parallel study in Pakistan to generate evidence-based knowledge. The objective of the study is to:

• understand the law, its compliance with international human rights standards and any gaps in legal protection for victims/survivors of sexual violence
• understand how the law is implemented, looking specifically at the role and response of the criminal justice system - Police, Medical and Legal - in addressing the problem of sexual violence against women and girls in Pakistan 
• understand the experiences of women survivors in their journey of pursuing justice, particularly those from marginalised communities who might face a number of intersecting discriminations, in order to identify the shortcomings of the justice system and to create dialogues to bridge these gaps of the system. 

Equality Now is looking for a short-term research consultant from Pakistan who will carry out secondary and primary research for this project. 

Deliverables

The successful candidate is expected to focus on the following: 

1. Desk Research: Analysis of the laws relating to sexual violence in Pakistan and their compliance with international human rights standards with particular reference to those to which Pakistan is a party, including identification of the gaps and loopholes in the law and legal process which impede access to justice for victims/survivors of sexual violence. 
2. Desk Research: Development of an evidenced country analysis which assesses the role and response of the criminal justice system in addressing the issue of sexual violence against women and girls in the country, including police, prosecutorial and judicial response, legal procedure, any medical interventions (including for forensic purposes) and provision of support services, including legal aid. This would complement the laws research in identifying the practical and institutional barriers to accessing justice faced by survivors of sexual violence, with a particular focus on socially excluded women within the country. 
3. Primary Data Collection: Provided the appropriate safeguards are in place and in collaboration with organisations working to support victims/survivors, conduct interviews with at least 6 women victims/survivors of sexual violence in Pakistan to document their experience of the obstacles to accessing justice. The aim is that this will translate into at least 2-3 case studies to be included in the final report or some other appropriate representation of victims’/survivors’ direct experiences of the criminal justice system.
4. Primary Data Collection: Conduct interviews with at least 3 NGOs/lawyers/activists/government actors within the country who can provide either an overall picture of the response of the justice system in cases of sexual violence or particular expertise on certain critical aspects.
5. Validation workshop: Conduct a validation workshop with approximately 30-35 experts on law and sexual violence in Pakistan to share the draft findings and seek feedback. 
6. Final report: Provide a detailed final report on sexual violence in Pakistan including the access to justice barriers for survivors/victims. 

The research outputs and the report must be provided in English.

Required experience

The consultant selected for this project would:

• Be able to demonstrate 10-12 years of experience in undertaking research on issues affecting the rights of women and girls and/or sexual and gender-based violence in Pakistan.
• Be a lawyer or person with equivalent knowledge with detailed knowledge of the national legal frameworks and workings of the criminal justice system and sexual and gender-based violence in Pakistan, with a preference for expertise on sexual violence.
• Have strong general research and analytical skills with a nuanced understanding of the access to justice barriers for women and girls of sexual violence in Pakistan.
• Have strong relationships with women’s rights organisations, civil society organisations working on sexual violence in Pakistan and the justice sector and law enforcement actors. 
• Be able to convene and organise events independently.
• Be a good communicator with the ability to meet deadlines.
• Have strong writing skills to convey technical and project information with evidence and accuracy for the target audience of government stakeholders, justice sector and law enforcement actors 
• Have the flexibility to collaborate with the Equality Now colleagues across geography and time zones to ensure quality deliverables. 
• Have fluency in English (both oral and written) and any local languages needed properly to accomplish this work. 

The consultant will be based in Pakistan, with a willingness to travel to other provinces/cities as agreed upon with the Equality Now team.

If an organisation applies for this project, it must ensure that the principal/lead researcher meets all the above criteria.

Terms of the Assignment

The project duration will be from May – September 2025. The consultant will propose in the Expression of Interest (EOI) their rate per day, the number of days in each month needed to deliver the work described above, providing a realistic timeline for the entire project. 

The consultant will report to the Global Lead on Ending Sexual Violence. The consultant will work closely with the South Asia team members to ensure that the agreed activities are conducted on time and are of a high quality.

Application details

This call for expression of interest is open to individual consultants or organisations (with an identified principal/lead researcher) based in Pakistan and working on sexual violence with an interest in this project.

The selection of the consultant will be based on: 

• the qualifications and experience of the candidate or the organisation (and its principal/lead researcher) as described in their EoI for the assignment, 
• information about at least two previous pieces of work detailing experience on sexual violence or related matters in Pakistan; and 
• the methodology that the consultant will propose to collect data and evidence and to validate the findings for the project; and
• the financial costing of the research as it must be viable within the proposed budget.

To apply, please visit: https://equalitynow.applytojob.com/ and submit by 30 March 2025 your resume and the Expression of Interest as a single PDF document (please upload in the resume section in the application page) indicating:  

• The consultant’s/organisation’s suitability for the assignment and relevant previous work, including a description of their proposed methodology for the study. 
• A financial proposal, with details of the daily rate for the work mentioned as well as any other potential cost and a breakdown of working days according to the expected deliverables. 
• Samples of recent, similar work.  
• 2 references who can support the statement of knowledge, skills and experience.

Please fill in all required fields in the application form. If your application requires a written statement, writing example, or presentation, please attach it to the same document with your CV/resume or paste it into the same place where you write your cover letter. There is no other functionality to attach additional documents.

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