Finalization of UNICEF’s Theory of Change and Development of the Strategy to End Violence

Against Children in Latin America and the Caribbean

1.    Background   

The UNICEF Strategic Plan 2018-2021 details UNICEF’s future direction and strategic priorities over the

coming four years. It provides a vehicle to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and

responds to its call to ‘leave no one behind’. Both the Strategic Plan, UNICEF’s Gender Action Plan and

its Child Protection Strategy include measures around violence, and a commitment to addressing the

gendered causes and forms of violence. UNICEF’s new Strategic Plan (2022-2026) continues this

commitment to programming to contribute towards the achievement of Goal Area3 outcome, ‘Every

child, including adolescents, is protected from violence, exploitation, abuse, neglect and harmful

practices’. This is also reflected in the Regional Office Management Plan that maintains the End of

Violence against Children (EVAC) as a priority, a priority also reflected with the country office plans.

The protection of children from all forms of violence is a fundamental right enshrined in the UN

Convention on the Rights of the Child. The inclusion of a specific target (SDG 16.2) in the 2030 Agenda

for Sustainable Development to end all forms of violence against children gives renewed impetus

towards the realization of the right of every child to live free from fear, neglect, abuse and exploitation.

Several other SDG targets address specific, and gendered, forms of violence and harm towards girls and

boys including, violence against women and girls including sexual exploitation (5.2). It is also recognised

that children in different situations such as child marriage (target 5.3) and child labour (target 8.7) as

well as in places separated from their families such as when migrating (SDG 10.7) or in care outside of

the family (e.g., 16.3) may be more at risk of violence.

Latin America and the Caribbean is the most violent region and unequal in the world; violence, gender

and ethnic inequalities are normalized. Violence is seen in the communities and also, in spaces

considered to be ‘safe’ such as the home, schools and childcare services. A few figures can illustrate

this:

• LAC is the only region that has seen an increase in homicide rates among adolescents aged 10 to

19 since 2007. Slightly less than 10% of the world’s adolescents live in the region, but nearly half

of all homicides among adolescents in 2015 occurred here.

• 14 of the 25 countries with the highest femicide rates are in Latin America.  2 out of 3 children

between ages 2-4 regularly experience some kind of violent discipline at home.3

• In school, 2 in 5 6th grade students were victims of some form of bullying.4
• It is estimated that between 230,000 and 375,000 children live in institutions in the region and

are likely to suffer all forms of violence and neglect.5

• 1.1 million adolescent girls (15-17 years old) report having been victims at least once of sexual

abuse and 4 out of 10 report intimate partner violence in their lifetime. We know that boys are

also suffering sexual violence, but data on this is scarce. 6

Violence changes as children grow: For infants and younger children, violence mainly takes the form of

maltreatment at the hands of parents, caregivers and other authority figures. As children grow older,

peer and intimate partner violence – bullying, fighting, sexual violence, and assault, often with weapons

such as guns and knives – also become common.7

 Violence also changes with access to different places such as the access to on-line portals. Violence against children is a complex, multi-faceted and multicausal phenomenon. Inequality is intimately linked to violence in LAC, the most unequal region in the world

. Violence at home, family breakdown, gender norms and values and a predominant “macho”

culture or toxic masculinity are also behind VAC. Gender norms are a key society-level factor that make

children and adolescents vulnerable to violence; they can reinforce the low status of girls and women in

society and increase the likelihood that boys and men perpetrate violence. Authoritarian social norms,

weak governance systems, corruption, organized crime, narco-economies, urban marginalization,

history of conflict, presence of small arms… also fuel violence against children in many parts of the

region.

As the numbers show, violence against children is one of the top issues affecting children in LAC. It

compromises their present and their future wellbeing with results such as: early pregnancies, low school

performance/attendance/completion, health issues (STIs, mental health disorders, brain development,

physical injuries), social exclusion, etc. VAC is a reality in all countries in the region.

The UNICEF Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office is based in Panama, operating in 36 territories,

including 24 country offices. The UNICEF offices in the region have prioritised the ending of violence

against children, recognising this as critical for the fulfilment of all child rights. The types of violence that

is of specific focus is ending armed violence, corporal punishment, and sexual violence.

PURPOSE:

Under the overall guidance of the Regional Advisor of Child Protection, in collaboration with the Regional

Gender Advisor, the purpose of this assignment is to finalize the Theory of Change (ToC) to End Violence

against Children (EVAC) for UNICEF in Latin America and the Caribbean and to develop a regional, 4-year

EVAC strategy. Three types of violence will have a particular focus: corporal punishment, sexual violence,

and armed violence.

The Theory of Change will be developed based on the working version of a ToC prepared based on the

multi-country evaluation on VAC and the workshop with COs in February 2020. Other contributing

documents from the RO will be provided for the development of the Strategy, which should be based on

UNICEF’s normative principles around equity, gender and inclusion and provide a clear linkage to the SDG

declaration and the Leave No One Behind principle.

The assignment will include:

1 – Develop a consolidate methodology for the assignment. This should include participation of the

relevant stakeholders, especially UNICEF COs, at relevant points.

2 – Advance the draft EVAC ToC for Latin America and the Caribbean. This will be fully referenced and

developed with regional and country offices staff and benefit from review and comments from partners

such as the Issue Based Coalition (IBC) on Crime and Violence and other reference groups.

3 – Finalise the EVAC TOC based on all inputs. The document will be validated by the regional EVAC Task

Force and final EVAC ToC produced.

4– Draft a UNICEF EVAC strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean, inclusive of a M&E framework. This

will be fully referenced and developed with regional and country office staff and also, with the IBC on

crime and violence.

5 – Finalise the UNICEF EVAC strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean based on all inputs. The

document will be validated by the regional EVAC Task Force.

6– Executive summary of the EVAC Strategy (max. 10 pages) and PPT in Spanish and English

7 – Webinar to share the results

2.           Solicitation

2.1       The purpose of this Request for Proposals for Services (“RFPS”) is to invite proposals for the " Finalization of UNICEF’s Theory of Change and Development of the Strategy to End Violence

Against Children in Latin America and the Caribbean Approach and guidance development to detailed in the Terms of Reference/Statement of Work attached at Annex B].

2.2       This RFPS document is comprised of the following:

• This document
• The UNICEF General Terms and Conditions of Contract (Services) which are attached as Annex A
• The full Terms of Reference/Statement of work attached at Annex B
• MDM Vendor Template Annex C
• Online registration to UNGM -United Nations Global Market – link: https://www.ungm.org/Account/Registration

2.3         This RFPS is an invitation to treat and shall not be construed as an offer capable of being accepted or as creating any contractual, other legal or restitution rights.  No binding contract, including a process contract or other understanding or arrangement, will exist between the Proposer and UNICEF and nothing in or in connection with this RFPS shall give rise to any liability on the part of UNICEF unless and until a contract is signed by UNICEF and the successful Proposer.

PART II – PROPOSAL SUBMISSION PROCESS

1.           Proposal Submission Schedule

CONTRACTUAL PROCESS

The schedule of the contractual process is as follows:

ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE:

1.           Send Proposal: 25.06.2021

2.           Questions and Answer if necessary: Until July 09th, 2021 before 23:59 (Panama Time)

3.           Consolidates Q & A posted in UNGM: July 12, 2021.

4.           Deadline for Proposals: July 14th, 2021 before 23:59 (Panama Time)

5.           Proposals Review: July 15th –23rd, 2021. approximately

6.           Award Notice sent and posted in UNGM: July 27th,2021. approximately

7.           Contract begins August 02nd, 2021 approximately.