Call for Quotations: Support for the organization of a National Consultation on SOGIE-based Bullying in Education Settings in the Philippines

TERMS OF REFERENCES

Deadline for Quotation Submission: 15 June 2016

1.         Nature of Consultancy:  

This institutional contract is to support UNESCO, UNDP and its partners with the organization of a National Consultation on SOGIE-based Bullying in Education Settings in the Philippines in August 2016 in Manila.

2.             Purpose of Assignment:  

A safe, inclusive and accepting school environment is a necessary condition for students to learn, thrive and reach their full potential. It also enhances the social and emotional well-being of learners, and builds respectful and equitable relationships and social cohesion in schools, families and communities.

Ensuring inclusive and quality education for all is a Sustainable Development Goal (Goal 4), with Goal 10[i] also emphasizing on the importance of the political, social and economic inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status. The need for education to be delivered in safe, supportive and secure learning environments free from violence is an explicit target of Sustainable Development Goal 4,[ii] specified also in both the Incheon Declaration adopted at the World Education Forum in 2015 and the Framework for Action for Education 2030.[iii]          

Violence against children has been widely documented globally in the past decade,[iv] but most research against children in schools has neglected to explore the role of gender. Yet many forms of school violence are believed to be deeply rooted in unequal gender relations, gendered social norms and discriminatory practices, reinforced by unequal power dynamics. As many as 246 million learners are affected every year, according to the 2015 Education For All Global Monitoring Report.[v] 

Promoting inclusion and addressing gender-based violence in schools is of great relevance to the Philippines. In the Philippines’ most recent Global Student-based School Health Survey, nearly half of boys and girls (47% and 48%, respectfully) reported being subjected to bullying in the past month.[vi] Cyberbullying on the internet is also of increasing concern, with a study using Google Trends recently finding the Philippines to be the fourth highest country to conduct internet searches on this issue.[vii] 

School bullying, violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression (SOGIE) is a global problem, with widespread impacts on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBT) students in the Asia-Pacific region.[viii] While there is limited data on the situation in the Philippines, studies suggest that verbal bullying, including name-calling, against transgender students is common but limited data could be found to substantiate this. One small qualitative study of five bakla youth, defined as “homosexual men belonging from the lower middle class to the lower class of society” aged 18-21, found examples of teasing, biased attitudes of the teachers and bullying.[ix]^,[x]

An analysis of three Grade 4 elementary textbooks from various subjects in the Philippines found gender stereotypes, heteronormative discourse and general invisibility of gender and sexually diverse persons,[xi] while another report indicated that gendered school uniforms and gender-specific appearance requirements were problematic for gender diverse learners including transgender students.[xii]

The Philippines government has demonstrated its commitment to preventing bullying in its schools. The Philippines Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 10627, otherwise known as the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013[xiii], requires all schools, both public and private, to adopt policies to prevent and address all acts of bullying in their institutions. The Act explicitly defines the nature of bullying behaviour including prohibited acts; the required prevention and intervention programmes, including mechanisms and procedures for handling bullying incidents; the duties and responsibilities of stakeholders; necessary training and development; the requirement for monitoring; and sanctions for non-compliance. It is believed to be first in the region to address cyberbullying, and also refers to ‘gender-based bullying’ which refers to any “act that humiliates or excludes a person on the basis of perceived or actual sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI).” Child Protection Committees, established in 2012, and comprised of school head and teacher, student, parent and community representatives, have also been assigned to handle bullying cases.[xiv]

In the Philippines, sexuality education is mandated under the Reproductive Health Law of 2013. Presently, NGOs are working with experts and Department of Education officials to establish minimum standards on sexuality education that include anti-bullying standards addressing both gender-based violence and other bullying and violence on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. Upon completion, these will undergo review in the main regions of the country before presentation and adoption, and may provide an important entry point to advance the Anti-Bullying Act and its application for LGBTI learners.[xv]

Moreover, programmes exist, particularly at university level, to build peer support and engage students in rejecting bullying, violence and other forms of discrimination such as UP Babylan,[xvi] founded in 1992 with national and international links, and others in polytechnic and universities.[xvii]231 Pride Marches for the LGBT community have been organised also in universities in the region, including at the University of the Philippines. This University has taken several other steps to build awareness and be attending to LGBTI learners needs. For example, the University’s Center for Women’s Studies has an LGBT collection including children’s books. It also built the first gender neutral bathroom in the Philippines and is advocating for further expansion of such facilities.[xviii] Networks have also been created such as the Parents and Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) groups in the Philippines, offering awareness-raising and advocacy activities, education and peer support for parents so that they may in turn better support their children.[xix]

There are various intervention programs by national and international development agencies addressing school violence and inclusion, and a national technical working group has been established and is co-convened by UNESCO and UNDP since mid-2015 as part of the Being LGBTI in Asia regional initiative to promote coordinated and evidence-based action in this area. It is within this partnership, with support from working group members and in collaboration with several government partners that this national consultation is being convened.

3.             Work Assignments:  

In close consultation with the UNDP Philippines Office, the UNESCO Bangkok Office, and the UNESCO Jakarta Office (the Cluster Office for the Philippines), the contractor will be fully responsible for the organizational aspects of this national meeting in August 2016, specifically, to:

1.     Make an overall meeting plan and a detailed budget estimation and breakdown.

2.     Based on the preliminary participant list suggested by UNDP and UNESCO, further identify and confirm participants (between 70-80 people) for the meeting from Manila and other provinces, ensuring diversity of the participants by considering their areas of expertise that cover policy making and advocacy, research, educational interventions, community engagement, etc.

3.     Send invitations to all participants within a reasonable time-frame, and follow up to secure confirmations.

4.     Prepare and finalise the detailed facilitator agenda and session notes for the 3 day meeting, in line with the concept note and broad agenda framework proposed by UNESCO and UNDP.

5.     Identify and communicate with session facilitators and moderators for different sessions of the meeting and assist UNESCO to develop session notes and to communicate with the facilitators beforehand to ensure they understand their roles clearly, and that their interventions are in line with the meeting requirements.

6.     Develop and prepare necessary meeting materials for the participants, including name tags, stationery, meeting agenda, reference materials, etc. and necessary sign boards for the meeting

7.     Make appropriate logistical arrangement for the meeting, including identifying and contracting the venue (based on a cost-comparison and in line with UNESCO regulations) and confirm preferred logistics including blocked booking for external participants, and lunches and tea breaks for all participants.

8.     Arrange accommodation for participants from outside Manila and reimbursement for their travel cost, reduced DSA as per UNESCO requirements.

9.     Prepare a short briefing paper (10-15 pages) on the situation in the Philippines drawing on desk-based research and additional background information and reference materials provided by UNDP and UNESCO; the report, which shall serve as a discussion paper for the meeting, should cover 1) the nature, scope and impact of violence, discrimination and exclusion in education in the Philippines; 2) relevant responses by different stakeholders to the issue; and 3) preliminary recommendations for addressing the issue. Submit the draft briefing paper to UNESCO by 10 July 2016 for review and comments.

10.  Provide the draft briefing paper to participants for feedback in advance of the consultation; record key points of discussions during the consultation and incorporate useful information into the briefing paper by 31 August 2016 for feedback by UNESCO and UNDP. Finalize the briefing paper for submission to UNESCO by 15 September 2016 in English, incorporating any comments/feedback provided by UNESCO/UNDP.

11.  Distribute, collect and analyse the evaluation forms (provided by UNESCO) from participants at the end of the meeting.

12.  Document the proceedings of the workshop by rapporteuring presentations and discussions and submit a short meeting report (5-8 pages), per the agreed template by UNESCO, with the results of the meeting. The report should highlight major issues that have been raised and discussed during the meeting and recommendations for follow-up actions, along with the list of participants, final agenda and evaluation results as annexes. A preliminary draft should be submitted to UNESCO and finalized, incorporating UNESCO and UNDP’s feedback, no later than 31 August.

13.  Prepare a financial statement on the overall consultancy by 15 September 2016 and send all final deliverables.

4.             End products/deliverables

2.       Submission of the meeting packages in English (facilitator and participant agendas, participant list, including the draft briefing paper on the situation in the Philippines on safe and inclusive schools) for circulation at the meeting by 10 July 2016.

3.     Submission of the final situation-response briefing paper, incorporating feedback from the meeting, in English (work assignment item 9) and the final workshop proceeding report in English language (work assignment item 12) to UNESCO Bangkok, along with the financial report including relevant original invoices, receipts, original boarding passes, and signed list of participants by 15 September 2016.

5.             Estimated Duration of Contract:   22 June 2016 - 15 September 2016

The contract will be established as soon as possible, with the final dates being 15 September 2016.

6.             Official Travel Involved:

The institution contracted to undertake this will work from its own premises for the preparation of the consultation process, with occasional travel to the UNDP Office in Manila and onsite support at the hotel in Manila. Manila -based institutions will be preferred in the selection of institutions.

7.             Qualifications or Specialized Knowledge/Experience Required for the organization:  

·          Demonstrated experience working in the thematic areas of education, health, gender equality and gender based violence, child protection, or prevention of violence;

·          Staff with advanced degrees related to a social science, preferably education - including psychology, gender studies, child studies, development studies, public policy or public administration for the preparation of the briefing paper;

·          Proven track record in organizing policy advocacy and consultative meetings on education, health, gender, sexuality or violence;

·          Demonstrated experience in note taking/report writing and delivering proceeding reports and summary for policy makers on the relation issues;

·         Previous experience working with the UN/multilateral/bilateral institutions an additional asset. 

8.                      Budget and payment schedule:

 9.              Contract arrangements:

UNESCO Bangkok will issue the contract and be the primary focal point with the selected institution. The supervisor and other partners will provide guidance to the selected institution.

If indicated outputs are not satisfactory, payment will be withheld.

10.        Application  

Interested institutions should submit a short (3-5 pages) proposal including relevant examples and indicate the estimated fee for carrying out this assignment. This should include the bios of individual(s) on the project.

Proposals shall be submitted by email to Chief, HP2 Unit (hivinfo.bgk@unesco.org), no later than 15 June 2016, 17h00 Bangkok time (GMT +7:00).

Download the Call for Quotations (in pdf)

Endnotes