Referral Pathway International Consultant

Background of the project.

When crisis occurs, populations who have lost or fled their homes need urgent assistance: shelter, food, water, and medical care. Yet for women, displacement and destruction are not the only threats during emergencies. In times of crisis, women and girls are at enormous risk of different types of violence; physical, sexual violence, psychological, emotional, denial of services and resources by strangers, neighbors, family members and are in need for immediate lifesaving services, however the path for a survivor to reach them is blocked with the hurdles of stigma, shame, fear and real threats to security. It is vital that GBV be considered and acted upon across every sector, although this consideration alone is not enough. Specialized GBV programming is needed from the outset to provide targeted structures, staffing and programs that offer counseling, connect survivors to life-saving assistance and provide safety amidst chaos. These programs also ensure that GBV experts are on the ground to inform the way that prevention and response are integrated across sectors and ensure accountability to GBV standards within the humanitarian community. With such systems in place survivors are more likely to access services, take the first step toward recovery, and in turn support others. Without such programs, survivors face continued health, psychosocial and socio-economic consequences of violence. There have been significant shifts in the humanitarian operational environment in 2021 in Afghanistan, which require a revision of previous referral guidelines and systems. Consultations and research are required to understand the specific barriers to services in this new context and to assess safety and operational delivery needs that impact on referral systems and how they are implemented. Templates and systems that were standardized or used before need to be evaluated, contextualized and adapted for national and sub-national use, particularly to ensure both a localized and “do no harm” approach to safe referrals.

To support and enable this, the GBV Sub Cluster in Afghanistan is working for the creation of a referral system which will safely link survivors to supportive services that are in line with GBV coordination guidelines and the inter-agency GBV in Emergencies Programming minimum standards. A clear and comprehensive referral system should be established in each of the provinces where humanitarian partners have their presence so that survivors know where to go to receive assistance that is timely, and survivor centered.

The GBV Sub Cluster is seeking to bring on board a consultant who will run consultations and conduct the necessary assessments to design tools that will put safe and accessible pathways in place.

Scope of Work:

Under the supervision of the GBV Sub Cluster coordination team, the goal of this consultancy is to develop referral pathway guidelines and tools, capturing existing GBV services that meet minimum standards and that are available for survivors. Meeting this objective will require the consultant to analyze the current service mappings, identifying gaps and updating them as well as conduct assessments and consultations related to how to ensure safe communication with proper tools and resources in place. The consultant will create safe referral guidance and procedures for ensuring the proper correct flow of information without putting at risk safety and security of survivors and service providers.

The specific objectives of the consultancy:

The primary purpose of developing referral pathways is to optimize the benefits of quality and timely access to services, while ensuring the safety of service providers:

• Analyze and update the current service mappings to inform areas of need for further assessment.
• Develop pathways and the assessment of the procedures.
• Provide a basis for improvement through evaluation and review of the current procedures and tools.
• Capacity building of Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) to be partners for referrals and be engaged in service provision as entry points for service delivery.

Deliverables:

1. Review the existing tools and procedures and provide recommendations

These included:

• Review of the current service mapping tool and procedures and update the service mapping.
• Review the draft survey for the referral pathway
• Review the draft Referral Pathway guidance note

2. Creation of tools and workshops

• Create a clear referral pathway product that can be used at national level and sub-national level to update and communicate available GBV prevention and response services and linkages to other available interventions.
• A referral pathway guidance note, which specifically address security concerns and explains who will have access to the pathways.
• Training for GBV Coordination team, referral pathway task team, OPDs and relevant service provides in use, monitoring and delivery standards.
• Delivery of workshops at national and regional level for broader dissemination of information on safe referrals.

3. Develop a comprehensive work plan to guide design and the roll out of the referral pathways.

4. Final report to be validated by the GBV Sub Cluster coordination team