bd-Guide-on How-to-Assess-Essential-Services-for-GBV-survivors-s

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GBV SERVICE ASSESSMENT

METHODOLOGY
A GUIDE ON HOW TO ASSESS THE ESSENTIAL SERVICES FOR WOMEN AND
GIRLS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE DECEMBER
2020
KATHERINE BELEN
KCMB CONSULTING
https://www.kcmbconsulting.com/
Developed for UN Women, UNFPA and UNICEF Bangladesh as part of the United Nation system’s
Immediate Socio-Economic Response Plan (ISERP) to the COVID-19 crisis in 2020.
Acknowledgements
Our thanks to:
Katherine Marie Belen, the researcher and author of the GBV Service Methodology, for her expertise and
commitment during the project.
The UN team who directed the development of the GBV Service Assessment Methodology, for their
technical advice and editing.
Giulia Pelosi, UN Women

Rumana Khan, UNFPA
Irene Tumwebaze, UNICEF
Shrabana Datta, UN Women
Shamima Pervin, UNFPA
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.
Content: Katherine Marie Belen, UN Women Consultant / Contact: [email protected]

Additional Research support: Subarna Sharmin, UNFPA Consultant
This manual may be copied for use in training, education, or research, providing the source is acknowledged. It may not be
reproduced for other purposes without the prior permission of UN Women.
This GBV Service Assessment Methodology is available in English only.
UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF 2020
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction.................................................................................................................... 4
1.1. Background .........................................................................................................................4
1.2. Gender Based Violence in Bangladesh..................................................................................4
1.3. Purpose and Scope of this Methodology Document .............................................................5
Purpose .................................................................................................................................................................5
Defining Essential Services ....................................................................................................................................6
Key Contents of the GBV Service Assessment Methodology ................................................................................7
2. Assessment of GBV Essential Services: Research Objectives and Lines of Inquiry .............. 8
Main Assessment Questions .................................................................................................................................8
Sub-questions: ......................................................................................................................................................8
3. Standards and Methods in Assessing GBV Essential Services............................................ 9

3.1. Assessing Essential Health Services ................................................................................... 12
3.1.1. Standards of Essential Health Services and Key Questions for Assessment of Quality and
Functionality .......................................................................................................................................................13
3.1.2. Methods to gather information to answer the Key Questions .........................................................16
3.2. Assessing Essential Justice and Policing Services................................................................. 18
3.2.1. Standards of Essential Policing and Justice Services and Key Questions for Assessment .................19
3.2.2. Methods to gather information to answer the Key Questions for Justice and Policing ....................28
3.3. Assessing Essential Social Services ..................................................................................... 30
3.3.1. Standards of Essential Social Services and Key Questions for Assessment .......................................32
3.3.2. Methods to gather information to answer the Key Questions for Social Services............................35
3.4. Coordination and Governance of that Coordination ........................................................... 37
3.4.1. Standards of Essential Actions for Coordination and governance of coordination...........................39
National Level Coordination ...............................................................................................................................39
Local Level Coordination .....................................................................................................................................40
3.4.2. Methods for Assessing Coordination and Governance of the Coordination of the GBV Multi-
Sectoral Responses .............................................................................................................................................41
3.5. Summary of Data Sets and Methodologies for GBV Service Assessments ............................ 42
4. Guiding Principles and Good Practices in Essential Services for GBV Survivors ................ 44
5. Conducting GBV Service Assessments: Ethical Considerations and Safety
Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 46
6. Timeline and Costs ........................................................................................................ 48
6.1. Eight Steps to undertake GBV Service Assessment ............................................................ 48
Sample of Districts ..............................................................................................................................................49
6.2. Indicative Budget for Conducting a GBV Service Assessment for all Health, Policing and
Justice Essential GBV Services ....................................................................................................... 50
7. Assessment Tools .......................................................................................................... 52
7.1. Key Informant Interview Tools ........................................................................................... 52
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7.1.1. Interviews with women’s rights organisations / NGOs familiar with the status of the country’s GBV
response (in health, social services and policing and justice) .............................................................................52
7.1.2. Interviews with health service, justice and policing services, and social service providers (for
Government and NGO) .......................................................................................................................................54
7.2. Focus Group Discussion Guides .......................................................................................... 59
7.2.1. FGD with community members, leaders or civil society (local NGO, grassroots or community-based
organisations) working on GBV response ...........................................................................................................59
7.3. Assessment and Planning Workshop Guide ........................................................................ 67
Annexes .............................................................................................................................. 69
Annex 1: Language and Terms ............................................................................................................................69
Annex 2: Consent Forms .....................................................................................................................................71
Annex 3: List of Tables and Figures .....................................................................................................................73
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 74
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1. Introduction1
1.1. Background
In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, the United Nation system embarked in the development of the
Immediate Socio-Economic Response Plan (ISERP). The UN Immediate Socio-Economic Response Plan was
launched by the UN DSG in April 2020. It is one of three components of the UN effort to save lives, protect
people, and rebuild better in the context of COVID-19, alongside the health response, led by the World
Health Organization, and the humanitarian response as detailed in the UN-led COVID-19 Global
Humanitarian Response Plan.
The ISERP aims to mitigate the multifaceted impacts of COVID-19 so that the country can make a solid
recovery and continue its progress towards its development goals, including the 2030 Agenda. In support
of the economic stimulus and social protection packages issued by the Government in response to the
crisis, the interventions and policy recommendations in the strategy intend to help Bangladesh build back
better and seize opportunities to promote more inclusive sustainable development in the post-COVID
landscape.
Without urgent socio-economic responses that focus on addressing the needs of those most vulnerable,
suffering will escalate, jeopardizing lives and livelihoods for years to come. The ISERP therefore is firmly
anchored in a 'whole of the society' approach and the principle of 'leaving no one behind,’ with a central
focus on advancing human rights and ensuring gender and conflict-sensitive considerations guide analysis,
programming, and decision making. Under the ISERP Pillar 5, Promoting social cohesion and investing in
community-led resilience and response systems one of the key priorities is strengthening prevention and
response mechanisms to tackle Gender Based Violence, specifically on strengthening GBV response
mechanisms that have been disrupted during COVID 19.
1.2. Gender Based Violence in Bangladesh

COVID-19 lockdown has disproportionately impacted women as existing gender inequalities are
exacerbating gender-based disparities between women, men, girls, and boys in terms of access to
information, resources to cope with the pandemic, and its socio-economic impact. The concentration of
women’s employment in the informal sector, on the one hand, and in Bangladesh’s health system, on the
other – where more than 94 percent of nurses, 90 percent of community health workers and all midwives
are female – has placed women on the front lines of both the consequences of and the response to the
pandemic.
These trends illustrate the unequal social norms that view domestic violence and intimate partner
violence as a private matter that leads to underreporting. The outbreak has heightened exposure of
children to abuse and yet fewer venues to report violence, both due to school shutdowns, a lack of social
support and household stresses. Furthermore, it has evoked increased risks of child marriage for
adolescent girls, which traditionally increase during times of emergency.
Violence against women, boys and girls was already alarming before the COVID 19 crisis. The VAW survey
(2015) estimates a more than two thirds (72.6%) lifetime prevalence rate among women, while 37.5 % of
the adolescent girls aged 15-19 years’ experience partner physical violence. Further, before COVID-19
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From UN Women Terms of Reference
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pandemic, an estimated 45 million children (MICS 2019) in Bangladesh were experiencing violence. Cases
of domestic violence are often not reported because it is widely tolerated and justified for breaking gender
norms. Fear, stigma, and inadequate understanding of human rights might be contributing factors to
under-reporting. Despite the high prevalence of violence against women, children, and girls, an alarming
culture of silence and impunity is widespread across the country, where 72.6% of women who suffered
violence never reported or told others. Among those who did, the majority reported cases of violence to
their family members or neighbours, while only a minimal 1.1% reported to the police and 2.1 to local
leaders. A general lack of information, scarcity of trust towards service providers, fear of re-victimization,
stigma, inadequate governance structures, and obstruction by community leaders are among the reasons
for low reporting. Amid this emergency period some CSOs observed to continue their GBV focused
interventions through hotline services, legal advice, and psychosocial counselling.
GBV is under-reported generally and it is difficult to obtain, due to insecurity, service gaps, lack of
protection of survivors, fear of reprisals and impunity for perpetrators, social stigma, cultural norms, etc.
Knowing just how much violence is occurring is already a challenge; it is an under-reported area in the
first place, and all the more so under these circumstances of seclusion and inhibited communication. In
Bangladesh, the Rapid Gender Analysis shows that 33% of women do not know where to call for help if
they experience violence. Also, 49.2% of women, children and girls felt safety and security was an issue
due to the lockdown and loss of livelihoods.
Safety, security, and access to justice services may be disrupted as government institutions shift resources
to the public health crisis. Outside of the home, gender-based violence and sexual exploitation are likely
to increase alongside increased social vulnerability and poverty. Risks to sexual orientation and gender
identity minorities will likely increase alongside increased reinforcement of gendered norms (that require
women at home), compromising their health, safety, and autonomy in public and private spaces. Physical
violence and exploitation by law enforcement agencies being subjected on floating sex workers and
transwomen for being on the streets during lockdown who need to make a living.
1.3. Purpose and Scope of this Methodology Document

UN Women, UNICEF, and UNFPA are working jointly towards strengthen prevention and response
mechanisms to tackle Gender Based Violence, specifically on strengthening GBV response mechanisms
that have been disrupted during the COVID-19 crisis. The three agencies are planning to conduct analyses
of how the pandemic has disrupted the GBV services, and to gain a more in-depth understanding of the
availability and quality of essential services for GBV survivors as well as new needs emerged from the
crisis.
Essential services can diminish the losses experienced by women, families, and communities in terms of
productivity, school achievement, public policies, and budgets, and help break the recurrent cycle of
violence. Moreover, delivering GBV essential services also plays a key role in poverty reduction and
development and efforts to achieve the newly agreed 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (UN Women,
UNFPA, WHO, UNDP, & UNODC, 2015a).
Purpose
This GBV Service Assessment Methodology aims to guide the scope and process of a rapid assessment
of governmental and nongovernmental GBV Services in Bangladesh. Such an assessment can assist in
understanding the national situation of services for women and girls who have experienced gender-based
violence, and in identifying specific aspects of service quality that can be improved or strengthened. It can
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also provide information on strengths, where better services are being provided and factors influencing
the quality of essential services for GBV survivors.
Defining Essential Services

The research methodology is based on the Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to
Violence2—developed as part of the United Nations Joint Global Programme on Essential Services for
Women and Girls Subject to Violence, a partnership by UN Women, UNFPA, WHO, UNDP and UNODC in
2015—in order to define what GBV services are essential, and to determine the standards against which
the different types of GBV services will be assessed.
This Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence (ESP) reflects the vital
components of coordinated multi-sectoral responses for women and girls subject to violence. The
Programme identifies the essential services to be provided by the health, social services, police, and justice
sectors (the “Essential Services”), as well as guidelines for the coordination of Essential Services and the
governance of coordination processes and mechanisms (the “Coordination Guidelines”).
The provision, coordination and governance of essential health, justice & policing, and social services are
identified as the essential services that can “significantly mitigate the consequences that violence has on
the well-being, health and safety of women’s and girls’ lives, assist in the recovery and empowerment of
women, and stop violence from reoccurring” (UN Women et al., 2015a).
The Essential Services Package comprises six overlapping modules:

▪ Module 1 Overview and Introduction
▪ Module 2: Health Essential Services
▪ Module 3: Justice and Policing Essential Services
▪ Module 4: Essential Social Services
▪ Module 5: Essential Actions for Coordination and Governance of Coordination
▪ Module 6: Implementation Guide
In addition, the ESP identifies the following key resources to guide the implementation of the Guidelines
for the effective provision of the essential services:
1. WHO Strengthening health systems to respond to women subjected to intimate partner violence or sexual
violence: a manual for health managers, 2017 available at
https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/9789241548595/en/
2. World Health Organization. Responding to intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women: WHO
clinical and policy guidelines available at
https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/9789241548595/en/
3. WHO, UNW, UNFPA. Health care for women subjected to intimate partner violence or sexual violence. A clinical
handbook, 2014 available at: https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/violence/vaw-clinical-
handbook/en/
4. UNODC, Blueprint of Action: Implementation Plan for Criminal Justice Systems to Prevent and Respond to
Violence against Women and Girls, Chapter B.2 (on promoting effective training), available at
http://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and- prison-
reform/Strengthening_Crime_Prevention_and_Criminal_Justice_Responses_to_Violence_against_Women.pdf
5. United Nations Updated Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Women
in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, 2011 G.A. res 65/228, annex,
https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-
2
Available at: https://bit.ly/3nz1otd
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reform/crimeprevention/Model_Strategies_and_Practical_Measures_on_the_Elimination_of_Violence_agains
t_Women_in_the_Field_of_Crime_Prevention_and_Criminal_Justice.pdf
Figure 1 below shows the key actions involved in each of the essential services as well as actions for
national and local government coordination and oversight:
Figure 1. Essential Services Package: Overall framework diagram
Key Contents of the GBV Service Assessment Methodology

The main components of this Methodology document include:
(1) the assessment protocol, with details of the scope of the analysis and key assessment questions,
processes, and a description of methods.
(2) guiding principles and good practices based on international standards regarding gender sensitive and
rights-based approaches to researching and working on GBV.
(3) samples of assessment tools and checklists to assess the quality of essential services; and
(4) an indicative timeline and estimated lump-sum costs associated with conducting GBV Service
Assessments
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*Note: This Methodology can guide an assessment of the GBV Essential Services (health, policing and justice, and
social services) to be conducted all together or separately. Thus, some of the methods of data gathering are repeated
in each sectoral section; however, target respondents and tools can be tailored to the sector being assessed.
2. Assessment of GBV Essential Services: Research Objectives and

Lines of Inquiry
For the implementation of essential services to meet the needs of women and girls who experienced
gender-based violence, it is important to conduct an assessment of the current situation and identify gaps
in the available services. This includes identifying factors that provide for an enabling environment. As
the ESP Implementation Guide highlights, an assessment is necessary to identify needs, the existing
capacity to meet those needs, needs that are not being met, and establishing goals and objectives for
meeting the unmet needs (UN Women, UNFPA, WHO, UNDP, & UNODC, 2015f).
Service delivery across all essential services and actions should have the following 9 key characteristics
(UN Women et al., 2015a):
a. Availability g. Effective communication and participation by
b. Accessibility stakeholders in the design, implementation,
c. Adaptability and assessment of services
d. Appropriateness h. Data collection and information management
e. Prioritise safety i. Linking with other sectors and agencies
f. Informed consent and through coordination
confidentiality
Main Assessment Questions

There are two main research questions involved in undertaking a GBV service assessment:
(1) To what extent do the (a) health, (b) justice and policing, and (c) social services meet standards of care
for, and fulfilment of rights of women and girls who have experienced gender-based violence—based on
the UN Essential Services Package 9 key characteristics? and
(2) What are the strengths, gaps and factors influencing the quality of essential services for GBV survivors
that can inform concrete actions to improve for improvement or expansion that key stakeholders can
address?
(3) What are the factors related to the current COVID-19 / pandemic context that affected essential services,
and how can these be addressed?
The sub-questions for a GBV service assessment aim to gather evidence regarding the Foundational Elements for
services and service delivery to be of high quality. States and the health, police, justice, and social services sectors
must ensure there are strong foundations in place to support these efforts.
Sub-questions:
To what extent…
1. …is there a strong comprehensive legal framework that provides the legal and judicial basis for victims/
survivors’ seeking health, social services, justice, and policing services; and how are these implemented?
2. …are their governance, oversight and accountability mechanisms that allow elected and government
officials to ensure that the State’s duty to provide quality essential services is met; and how effective are
these mechanisms? Some examples include facilitating dialogue on whether and how guidelines should
be implemented; determining the quality-of-service standards; monitoring compliance with service
standards; and identifying systemic failures in their design, implementation, and delivery.
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3. …are their resources and financing required to build and sustain each sector, as well as an integrated
coordinated system, that has capacity and capability to provide quality essential services that effectively
and efficiently respond to violence against women and girls?
4. …is training and workforce development available to ensure that sector agencies and coordination
mechanisms have the capacity and capability to deliver quality services?
5. …is there regular monitoring and evaluation, that can inform the continuous improvement of the
sectors to deliver quality services to women and girls experiencing violence?
6. …are policies in each sector and for coordination mechanisms gender sensitive, and linked to national
policies, (as well as to a National Action Plan to Eliminate Violence against Women) in order for each
sector to work alongside other services in an integrated way to provide the most effective response to
women and girls subjected to violence?
3. Standards and Methods in Assessing GBV Essential Services
Essential services share a range of common characteristics and common activities. These are applicable regardless
of the specific sector that may be responding to women and girls experiencing violence. Service delivery across all
essential services and actions should have the following key characteristics (see table below for description and
guidelines under each):
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Key Characteristic / Standard for Essential Services Guidelines
Availability Essential health care, social services, justice, and policing • Service delivery must be created, maintained, and developed in a way that guarantee women and girl’s
services must be available in sufficient quantity and quality to all victims access to comprehensive services without discrimination in the whole territory of the State, including
and survivors of violence regardless of her place of residence, remote, rural, and isolated areas.
nationality, ethnicity, caste, class, migrant or refugee status, indigenous • Services are delivered to reach all populations, including the most excluded, remote, vulnerable, and
status, age, religion, language and level of literacy, sexual orientation, marginalized without any form of discrimination regardless of their individual circumstances and life
marital status, disabilities, or any other characteristic not considered experiences of women and girls including their age, identity, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity,
ethnicity, and language preferences
• Service delivery is organized to provide women and girls with continuity of care across the network of
services and over their life cycle.
• Consider innovative service delivery to broaden coverage of service delivery such as mobile health
clinics and courts as well as the creative use of modern IT solutions when feasible
Accessibility requires services to be accessible to all women and girls • Women and girls are able to access services without undue financial or administrative burden. This
without discrimination. They must be physically accessible (services are means services should be affordable, administratively easy to access, and in certain cases, such as police,
within safe physical reach for all women and girls), economically emergency health and social services, free of charge.
accessible (affordability) and linguistically accessible (information is • Services must be delivered as far as possible, in a way that considers the language needs of the user.
provided in various formats) • Service delivery procedures and other information about essential services are available in multiple
formats (for example, oral, written, electronically) and user-friendly and in plain language to maximize
access and meet the needs of different target groups.
Adaptability Essential services must recognize the differential impacts • Services understand and respond to the individual circumstances and needs of each victim / survivor.
of violence on different groups of women and communities. They must • A comprehensive range of services are provided to allow women and girls to have options to services
respond to the needs of victims and survivors in ways that integrate that best meet their individual circumstances.
human rights and culturally sensitive principles.
Appropriateness Appropriate essential services for women and girls • Efforts are made to reduce secondary victimisation, for example, minimize the number of times she has
are those which are delivered in a way that is agreeable to her: respects to relay her story; the number of people she must deal with; and ensuring trained personnel are available.
her dignity; guarantees her confidentiality; is sensitive to her needs and • Women and girls are supported to fully understand their options.
perspectives; and minimizes secondary victimization. • Women and girls are empowered to feel able to help herself and to ask for help.
• Women and girls’ decisions are respected after ensuring she fully understands the options available to
her.
• Services should be delivered in a way that responds to her needs and concerns without intruding on
her autonomy.
Prioritize safety risk assessment and safety planning Women • Services use risk assessment and management tools specifically developed for responding to intimate
and girls face many risks to their immediate and ongoing safety. These partner violence and non-partner sexual violence.
risks will be specific to the individual circumstances of each woman and • Services regularly and consistently assess the individual risks for each woman and girl.
girls. Risk assessment and management can reduce the level of risk. Best • Services use a range of risk management options, solutions, and safety measures to support the safety
practice risk assessment and management includes consistent and of women and girls.
coordinated approaches within and between social, health and police • Service providers should ensure that women and girls receive a strengths-based, individualized plan that
and justice sectors includes strategies for risk management.
• Services must work with all agencies including health, social services, justice, and policing services to
coordinate risk assessment and management approaches.
Effective Communication and Participation by Stakeholders in • Service providers must be non-judgmental, empathetic, and supportive.
design, implementation and assessment of services Women and
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Key Characteristic / Standard for Essential Services Guidelines
girls need to know that she is being listened to and that her needs are • Women and girls must have the opportunity to tell her story, be listened to, and have her story
being understood and addressed. Information and the way it is accurately recorded and to be able to express her needs and concerns according to their abilities, age,
communicated can empower her to seek essential services. All intellectual maturity, and evolving capacity.
communication with women and girls must promote their dignity and • Service provider must validate her concerns and experiences by taking what she says seriously, not
be respectful of them. blame or judge her.
• Service providers must provide information and counselling that helps her to make her own decisions.
Informed
Informed consent and confidentiality All essential services must • Services have a code of ethics for the exchange of information (in accordance with existing legislation),
be delivered in a way that protects the woman or girl’s privacy, including what information will be shared, how it will be shared and who it will be shared with.
guarantees her confidentiality, and discloses information only with her • Service providers working directly with women and girls are informed about, and comply with, the
informed consent, to the extent possible. Information about the code of ethics.
woman’s experience of violence can be extremely sensitive. Sharing this • Information relating to individual women and girls is treated confidentially and stored securely.
information inappropriately can have serious and potentially life- • Women and girls are supported to fully understand their options and the implications of disclosure.
threatening consequences for the women or girls and for the people • Service providers understand, and comply with, their responsibilities with respect to confidentiality.
providing assistance to her
Data collection and information management The consistent • Ensure there is a documented and secure system for the collection, recording and storing of all
and accurate collection of data about the services provided to women information and data.
and girls is important in supporting the continuous improvement of • All information about women and girls who are accessing services is stored securely including: client
services. Services must have clear and documented processes for the files, legal and medical reports, and safety plans.
accurate recording and confidential, secure storage of information • Ensure accurate data collection by supporting staff to understand and use the data collection
about women and girls, and the services provided to them systems, and providing them adequate time to enter data in data collection systems.
• Ensure data are only shared using agreed protocols between organizations.
• Promote the analysis of data collection to assist in understanding the prevalence of violence, trends in
using the essential services, evaluation of existing services and inform prevention measures
Linking with other sectors and agencies through referral and • Procedures between services for information sharing and referral are consistent, known by agency staff,
coordination Linking with other sectors and agencies through and communicated clearly to women and girls
coordination, such as referral pathways, assist women and girls receive • Services have mechanisms for coordinating and monitoring the effectiveness of referrals processes.
timely and appropriate services. Referral processes must incorporate • Services refer to child specific services as required and appropriate.
standards for informed consent. To ensure the smooth navigation of
the different essential services for victims and survivors, protocols, and
agreements about the referral process with relevant social, health and
justice services, including clear responsibilities of each service, need to
be in place
Table 1. Nine (9) Key Characteristics and guidelines for service delivery across all essential services and actions
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Foundational Elements
Apart from Key Characteristics, for services and service delivery to be of high quality, the ESP highlights
what States, and the health, police, justice, and social services sectors must ensure in order to have strong
foundations in place to support quality service provision.
1. Comprehensive legislation and legal frameworks States should have a comprehensive legal
framework that provides the legal and judicial basis for victims/ survivors’ seeking health, social
services, justice, and policing services.
2. Governance, oversight and accountability Governance, oversight and accountability are required to
ensure that the State’s duty to provide quality essential services is met. Elected and government
officials are encouraged to support these efforts by facilitating dialogue on whether and how
guidelines should be implemented, determining the quality-of-service standards, and in monitoring
compliance with service standards and identifying systemic failures in their design, implementation,
and delivery. Women and girls need to have recourse when essential services are denied,
undermined, unreasonably delayed, or lacking due to negligence. Accountability is vital to ensuring
essential services are available, accessible, adaptable, and appropriate. Accountability is enhanced by
participation by stakeholders in design, implementation, and assessment of services.
3. Resources and financing Resources and financing are required to build and sustain each sector as well
as an integrated coordinated system that has capacity and capability to provide quality essential
services that effectively and efficiently respond to violence against women and girls.
4. Training and workforce development Training and workforce development ensures that sector
agencies and coordination mechanisms have the capacity and capability to deliver quality services,
and that service providers have the competency required to fulfil their roles and responsibilities. All
service providers require opportunities to build their skills and expertise and to ensure their
knowledge and skills remain up to date.
5. Monitoring and evaluation Continuous improvement by sectors, informed by regular monitoring and
evaluation, is needed to deliver quality services to women and girls experiencing violence. This relies
on collection, analysis, and publication of comprehensive data on violence against women and girls in
a form that can be used to gauge and promote quality service provisions.
6. Gender sensitive policies and practices Policies in each sector and for coordination mechanisms need
to be gender sensitive as well as integrated into a National Action Plan to Eliminate Violence against
Women. For each sector to work with and alongside other services in an integrated way to provide
the most effective response to women and girls subjected to violence, each sector policies should be
linked with a national policy
7. Integration of GBV response as part of the country’s overall COVID-19 pandemic response in
addition to the 6 foundational elements of the ESP, this methodology shall include a specific focus on
assessing how the pandemic has affected essential services and identifying the specific needs that
emerged and ways to address them.
3.1. Assessing Essential Health Services 3

Women and girls often seek health services even if they do not disclose the associated abuse or violence,
thus, a quality health service response to violence against women and girls is crucial, not only to ensure
survivors have access to the highest attainable health standard, but also because health care providers
(such as nurses, midwives, doctors, community health workers, and others) are likely to be the first
professional contact for women who experienced intimate partner violence or sexual violence (UN
Women et al., 2015a).
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Adapted from: (WHO, 2013)
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Apart from the main aforementioned Research Questions and Sub-Questions regarding the foundational
elements for service delivery, below are key questions to consider in the methodology for any GBV Health
Service Assessment.
Key Areas for Assessment of Essential Health Services and Suggested Methods
Each of the main areas below constitute a key step in the process of assessing essential health services
for GBV survivors:
1. Models of Care / Service – What are the models of care for service delivery to women exposed to
intimate partner violence and sexual violence? E.g., One-stop crisis centre model
2. Institutional arrangements and infrastructure – Which institutions are primarily responsible for
provision of GBV health services? What necessary resources, machinery/ equipment, infrastructure,
etc. are available?
3. Capacity building – Are there necessary health care providers and do they have training? Is mentoring
and supervision to support performance offered?
4. Guidelines and protocols – Are there established protocols or standard operating procedures for
service delivery?
5. Referral systems – Are there established coordination and referrals within the health system to put
protocols or standard operating procedures into practice?
6. Screening – What type/s of screening are practiced for the identification of intimate partner violence
(i.e., clinical enquiry or case-finding as WHO recommends health-care providers to raise the topic with women
who have injuries or conditions that they suspect may be related to violence (World Health Organization, 2014);
and in a variety of settings such as general practice/primary care, antenatal care, family planning, trauma and
emergency settings, HIV testing and counselling clinics, substance abuse clinics, and mental health-care
settings), and among different populations?
7. Documentation and data management – What systems and protocols guide the documentation and
data management of GBV survivors’ information (including information disclosure), and how is the
safety of all concerned considered and planned for?
3.1.1. Standards of Essential Health Services and Key Questions for Assessment of Quality and
Functionality
The standards proposed below are drawn from evidence-based recommendations in the Responding to
intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women: Clinical and policy guidelines (WHO, 2013)4.
These were organised according to the Core Elements identified in the Essential services package for
women and girls subject to violence-Module 2 Health Services (UN Women, UNFPA, WHO, UNDP, &
UNODC, 2015b).
Essential Health Core Elements Key Questions
Service
ESSENTIAL 1.1. Information ▪ Is there written information on IPV and sexual assault5 available in
SERVICE #1: healthcare settings e.g., posters, pamphlets or leaflets made available in
IDENTIFICATION private areas such as women’s washrooms?
OF SURVIVORS OF ▪ How accurate, accessible, and complete is the information? E.g., have
INTIMATE appropriate warnings about taking them home if an abusive partner is there
(WHO Guidelines Recommendation 4)
4
Recommendations were considered as strong or conditional, on the basis of the generalizability of benefit across different
settings, and the needs and preferences of women to access services, as well as taking into consideration the level of human and
other resources that would be required. The ‘Strong’ recommendations were highlighted here in the form of key questions for
the health service assessment.
5 Depending on the local legislation, the term sexual assault may also refer to sexual violence.
13
Service
PARTNER 1.2. Identification ▪ Do health service providers ask about exposure to intimate partner violence
VIOLENCE of women when assessing conditions that may be caused or complicated by intimate
suffering partner violence in order to improve diagnosis / identification and
intimate subsequent care?
partner
violence
ESSENTIAL 2.1 Women- ▪ Are women who disclose any form of violence by an intimate partner (or
SERVICE #2: FIRST centred care other family member) or sexual assault by any perpetrator offered
LINE SUPPORT immediate support?
▪ Is the first line support women- or survivor-centred6?
2.2 ▪ Is there mandatory reporting of violence against women to the police by
Mandatory health service providers? (Note: This is not recommended by WHO Guidelines)
Reporting ▪ Do health service providers know that they should offer to report the
incident to the appropriate authorities, including the police, if the woman
wants this and is aware of her rights.
(Note: Child maltreatment and life-threatening incidents must be reported to
the relevant authorities by the health service provider, where there is a legal
requirement to do so. (WHO Guidelines Recommendation 36 and 37)
▪ If health service providers are unable to provide first line support, do they
ensure that someone else (within their healthcare setting or another that is
easily accessible) is immediately available to do so?
ESSENTIAL 3.1 ▪ Does history take follow the standard medical procedures?
SERVICE #3: CARE History and ▪ Are there trained staff to provide trauma-informed care? (e.g., knowledge
OF INJURIES AND examination that during intake / assessment keeping in mind that IPV/SV women
URGENT MEDICAL survivors are likely to be traumatized and how to refer trauma patients at a
ISSUES minimum)
▪ Is informed consent obtained before medical examination, treatment,
forensic evidence collection, for the release of information to third parties,
e.g., police and courts?
▪ Are there trained staff to conduct a thorough physical examination (with
the woman’s informed consent)? (See WHO Clinical Handbook for further
details, pages 40-49)
3.2 ▪ Is there emergency treatment available for a woman has suffered life
Emergency threatening or severe conditions, and do staff know how to refer survivors
treatment immediately?
ESSENTIAL 4.1. Complete ▪ Are there staff trained to take complete history, recording events to
SERVICE #4: History determine what interventions are appropriate and conduct a complete
SEXUAL ASSAULT physical examination (head-to-toe including genitalia)? (WHO Guidelines
EXAM AND CARE Recommendation 11. Also see WHO Clinical Handbook for further details, pages 40-
48)
6
This can be further investigated with the following principles of survivor-centered approach (SCA): • Being non-judgmental and
supportive and validating what the women is saying • Providing practical care and support that responds to her concerns but
does not intrude on her autonomy • Asking about her history of violence, listening carefully, but not pressuring her to talk •
Listening without pressuring her to respond or disclose information • Offering information; helping her access information about
resources, including legal and other services and helping her to connect to services and social supports - Provide written
information on coping strategies for dealing with severe stress• Assisting her to increase safety for herself and her children,
where needed • Offering comfort and help to alleviate or reduce her anxiety • Providing or mobilizing social support (including
referrals). Health service providers should ensure: • That the consultation is conducted in private • Confidentiality, while
informing women of the limits of confidentiality (i.e. when there is mandatory reporting).
14
Service
4.2 Emergency ▪ Is there emergency contraception offered to survivors of sexual assault
contraception presenting within 5 days of sexual assault, ideally as soon as possible after
the assault, to maximize effectiveness?
▪ If a woman presents after the time required for emergency contraception
(5 days), or emergency contraception fails, or the woman is pregnant as a
result of rape, is she offered safe abortion, in accordance with national law?
(WHO Guidelines Recommendations 12-14. Also see WHO Clinical Handbook for further
details, pages 49-51)
4.3 HIV post- ▪ Are women offered HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for women
exposure presenting within 72 hours of a sexual assault?
prophylaxis ▪ Is shared decision-making used with the survivor, to determine whether HIV
PEP is appropriate and follow national guidelines for prophylaxis?
(WHO Guidelines Recommendations 15-18. Also see WHO Clinical Handbook for further
details, section 2.4, pages 55-57).
4.4 ▪ Are women survivors of sexual assault offered prophylaxis for the most
Post-exposure common sexually transmitted infections 7 and hepatitis B vaccine following
prophylaxis for national guidance?
sexually (WHO Guidelines Recommendations 19-20. Also see WHO Clinical handbook for further
transmitted details, section 2.3, pages 52-54
infections
ESSENTIAL 5.1 ▪ Are women experiencing violence assessed for mental health problems
SERVICE #5: Mental health care (symptoms of acute stress/post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
MENTAL HEALTH for survivors of depression, alcohol and drug use problems, suicidality, or self-harm) and
ASSESSMENT AND intimate partner treated accordingly, using the mhGAP intervention guide, which covers
CARE violence WHO evidence-based clinical protocols for mental health problems?
▪ Is mental health care delivered by health service providers with a good
understanding of violence against women?
5.2 ▪ After an assault, is basic psychosocial provided for the first 1-3 months?
Basic psychosocial ▪ Is monitoring for more severe mental health problems conducted? This
support includes: • Helping strengthen her positive coping methods • Exploring the
availability of social support • Teaching and demonstrating stress reduction
exercises •Providing regular follow-up
5.3 ▪ Is an assessment of mental status (at same time as physical examination)
More severe assessing for immediate risk or self-harm or suicide and for moderate-
mental health severe depressive disorder and PTSD conducted?
problems ▪ Are referrals made to trained therapists, if available?
▪ Are referrals made when necessary for brief psychological treatments or
cognitive behaviour therapy? (WHO Guidelines Recommendations 24-27.
Also see WHO Clinical Handbook for further details, pages 67-83.)
ESSENTIAL 6.1 Comprehensive ▪ Does staff properly document in the medical record any health complaints,
SERVICE #6: and accurate symptoms, and signs, including a description of her injuries?
DOCUMENTATION documentation ▪ Does staff follow survivor-centred approach in documenting information?
(MEDICO-LEGAL) I.e., do they note the cause or suspected cause of these injuries or other
conditions, including who injured her with her permission to write this
information in her record, following her wishes?
6.2 Collection and ▪ Where a woman has consented to forensic evidence collection, is the chain
documentation of of custody of evidence maintained and is everything clearly labelled?
forensic specimens
7
Examples: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomonas, syphilis, depending on the prevalence (WHO, 2013)
15
Service
6.3 Providing ▪
Are health service providers providing medico-legal services familiar with
written evidence the legal system and know how to write a good statement (as a minimum,
and court document injuries in a complete and accurate way, make sound clinical
attendance observations, and reliably collect samples from victims for when they
choose to follow a legal recourse)?
Table 2. Essential Health Services, Core Elements and Key Questions
3.1.2. Methods to gather information to answer the Key Questions

Information and responses to the Key Questions above can be collected through a combination of primary
data gathering (e.g., interviews, focus group discussions, consultation workshops, etc.) and secondary
data gathering (e.g., review of documents, legislation, protocols, and reports, etc.)
Some questions can be answered by more than one method and would be useful in order to validate data
through the various sources of information. For example, information on services available may be
reported in national documents or human rights reports submitted by the State to various international
human rights committees (e.g., CEDAW, CDC); however, it would be useful for the purpose of the GBV
Service Assessment to validate how these services are functioning at the community level. Thus,
responses gathered to the above questions via a document review can be complemented and validated
by the information from interviews or FGDs from community members or NGO representatives.
Below are the main methods for data gathering suggested to be included in any GBV Service Assessment.
It is not an exhaustive list, and can therefore be supplemented, adapted, and tailored based on the specific
localities that will be included in the GBV Service Assessment, varying resources available (i.e., budget and
time), and the specific research sampling and design.
1. Key Informant Interviews

In-depth and semi-structured interviews should be conducted with a wide range of stakeholders to gather
information on the availability and quality of health services for GBV survivors, along with information on
existing protocols (to validate any desk review) and gather additional information on formal and informal
practices in the health service delivery. It is useful to conduct KIIs with:
1.1. Health service professionals from government institutions—especially health and psychosocial
professionals in the one-stop crisis centres, and other government-run service points (e.g., Civil
Surgeon at district level, Programme Officer at OCCs)
1.2. Representatives from national government agencies responsible for GBV services and local
government (e.g., VAW focal points, DC, or Assistant DC8, Deputy Director of District Women Affairs,
Sub Inspector at Policewomen help desk, etc.)
1.3. Health service professionals from NGOs (including VAW/GBV shelter managers, counsellors, survivor
advocates / case managers, etc.)
1.4. Health and Gender/GBV programme managers from NGOs/ INGOs and UN agencies
2. Document Review
In many cases, significant information can be drawn from a review of documents, laws, policies and
8
Engagement with DC office depends on current engagement and existing partnerships of the organisation/UN agency
conducting the GBV assessment; i.e., while it may not be possible to hold a KII with all DCs or ADCs, assessments shall endeavour
to involve their offices to the extent possible.
16
studies reporting on the state of health services for GBV survivors. The following information are
important to gather during a desk review (World Health Organization (WHO), 2017):
2.1. Search for mapping reports and/or directory of list of what services and programmes are in place to
address violence against women including for medico-legal9, psychological support, and social
services.10
2.2. Collect evaluation results and lessons learned from previous or other initiatives that provide services
to survivors of violence from government and NGOs working on GBV response.
2.3. Identify any experts and staff who have been trained on violence against women (based on project
reports).
2.4. Determine whether there are dedicated budgets allocated to addressing violence against women or
that can be accessed to provide services.
2.5. Assemble any guidelines, protocols and training materials that have been developed on GBV response
by government.11
2.6. List which organization or institution is already working on this issue, what they are doing and who
can be potential partners.
2.7. Identify any networks, partnerships or alliances addressing this issue; this can also help inform
respondents for other primary data gathering (KIIs, and FGDs)
2.8. Ascertain if there is a focal point or unit/ministry/department or working group designated/mandated
to coordinate the response to violence against women.
2.9. Identify any mechanisms for coordination and referral between the health and other sectors on
violence against women
3. Focus group discussions

Discussions with community members that are composed of a good representation of users of health
service can provide greater detail and insight regarding the quality of GBV services. Moreover, in countries
where there is limited data on GBV issues and priority safety needs of women and girls, the GBV Service
Assessment FGDs can also include questions to identify the most pressing needs of women and most
urgent GBV threats present in the communities. Suggested organisation of focus group discussions include
having separate FGDs conducted for the following stakeholders:
3.1. Government VAW focal points from various levels of local government (including Upazila and Union
Parishad members knowledgeable on GBV services in the localities, e.g., Women Development
Forum, VAW Standing Committees, etc.)
3.2. Community-based organisation / grassroots women’s rights organisations leaders whether formal or
informal (e.g., Changemakers, other NGO-organised groups of GBV advocates)
3.3. Youth leaders including advocates organised and trained by NGOs on related issues e.g., child
marriage, adolescent clubs, comprehensive sexuality education
3.4. Community women (e.g., leaders of homeowner’s associations, members of Village Savings and Loan
Associations, etc.)
3.5. Community health workers
9
The World Health Organization has developed guidelines for medico-legal care for victims of sexual violence WHO (2004)
Guidelines for medico-legal care for victims of sexual violence.
10
These could include national mapping reports by government, UN agencies or other INGOs, as well as local mapping documents
from NGOs working on GBV response (i.e., District or sub-district level), or humanitarian actors in refugee or IDP camps.
11
These could also include those developed by NGOs or jointly by government and NGOs if they are widely used and referenced
in the country (national or sub-national levels).
17
*Note: It is advisable to have separate FGDs for women and men / adolescent girls and boys, as well as
separate for adults and young people. Similarly, it may also be appropriate to have separate FGDs for
government and NGO health service providers.
4. Self-Assessment Survey
In the event that there is enough time and resources to conduct a comprehensive GBV Service Assessment
(as opposed to just a rapid assessment), Self-Assessment Surveys can be conducted with health service
providers from government and NGOs in all the Divisions and Districts in the country. The questions in
Table 2. Essential Health Services, Core Elements and Key Questions serve as the main questionnaire to
conduct this survey.
5. Assessment and Planning Workshops
It is useful to organize a workshop to analyse critical capacity gaps and barriers to care and support
services for women and girls who experienced GBV. Thus, to complete any GBV service assessment, once
particular standards and quality issues have been identified, a workshop is needed to engage multiple
stakeholders and ensure participation of both government and nongovernment stakeholders in the
development of an action plan (with immediate and intermediate actions) to address barriers faced by
survivors of GBV in accessing care and support services.
3.2. Assessing Essential Justice and Policing Services

Based on the ESP Module on Justice and Policing (UN Women, UNFPA, WHO, UNDP, & UNODC, 2015c)
these services cover all survivor’s interactions with the police and the justice system from reporting or
initial contact to ensuring appropriate remedies. The services are grouped according to the broad stages
of the justice system: prevention, initial contact; investigation; pre-trial / hearing processes; trial / hearing
processes; perpetrator accountability and reparations; and post-trial processes. There are also services
that must be available throughout the entire justice system: protection; support; communications; and
justice sector coordination. See Figure 2 below.
Figure 2. Policing and Justice services are grouped according to the broad stages of the justice system and services
that must be available throughout the entire justice system.
Below is a checklist of important steps and considerations for conducting an assessment specifically of
the justice and policing services for GBV survivors, drawn from the ESP Module 6 Implementation Guide
(UN Women et al., 2015f):
1. Consult with relevant justice and police stakeholders, including with survivors, where possible,
following ethical and safety recommendations.
18
2. Assess current enabling factors12:
 Identify what legal frameworks are in place and identify the gaps and law reform needs to ensure a
comprehensive legal framework for the effective delivery of quality essential justice and policing
services13.
 Identify existing joint and sector justice policies and practices, whether there are specific policies on
violence against women for the justice and policing sectors and if they are linked to national policy
and action plans, and whether such policies are integrated into existing justice and policing services.
 Identify any companion procedures and protocols14.
 Identify what resources and financing are in place and the minimum requirements for the functioning
of those services.
 Identify the current workforce capacity and development and training approaches.
 Identify governance, oversight, and accountability mechanisms currently in place.
 Identify the current ability of the justice and policing sectors to monitor and evaluate service delivery.
3. If there is no mapping yet available, map existing justice and policing essential services that are
currently available in terms of availability, accessibility, responsiveness, adaptability, appropriateness,
analyse quality and identify gaps.
3.2.1. Standards of Essential Policing and Justice Services and Key Questions for Assessment
The standards proposed below are the Core Elements identified in the Essential services package for
women and girls subject to violence-Module 3 Justice and Policing Services (UN Women et al., 2015c)
Essential Policing Core Elements Key Questions
and Justice
Services
ESSENTIAL 1.1 Promotion ▪ To what extent do justice service providers seek out and establish
SERVICE #1. and support of relationships, and work collaboratively with organizations on long term
PREVENTION organizations and strategies that seek to end violence and increase the equality of women?
initiatives seeking to e.g., engaging educational institutions, women’s groups, men and boys,
end violence against parents, young people, and the media to advocate for, and take action to
women and increase reduce GBV
gender equality ▪ To what extent do justice service providers demonstrate gender
responsiveness e.g., consider the implications of policies, procedures and
practices on women and men and adjust them to promote gender
equality and GBV prevention?
▪ Do they ensure there is in place and enforce a zero-tolerance policy
against violence committed against any person, including
victims/survivors of violence against women for all employees? e.g., with
defined sanctions for non-compliance such as the harassment of survivors
of GBV by police or other justice actors
12
For more detailed guidance on conducting gender assessments in the criminal justice system see UNODC Gender Assessment
Tool UNODC (2010) Gender in the Criminal Justice Assessment Tool: https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-
reform/crimeprevention/E-book.pdf
13
For guidance, please see the UN Women Legislation Handbook: https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-
library/publications/2012/12/handbook-for-legislation-on-violence-against-women
14
For Guidance see the UN Women NAP Handbook : https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-
library/publications/2012/7/handbook-for-national-action-plans-on-violence-against-women
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1.2 ▪ To what extent do justice service providers contribute to developing and
Support efforts to implementing strategies to challenge social norms that contribute to the
raise awareness acceptability of VAWG? (Including affirm that men and boys are a
and promote the significant part of the solution to addressing violence against women and
unacceptability of girls)
men’s and boy’s ▪ To what extent do they work with CSOs to increase public confidence in
violence against the ability of the justice system to respond effectively to VAWG? E.g.,
women demonstrating commitment provide safety, support, and protection to
survivors, promoting perpetrator accountability.
1.3 Stopping violence ▪ Do justice service providers maintain accurate records of reported VAWG
and prevent future incidents of to identify trends of reporting to police services (including
violence against collection of data to assist in understanding the prevalence of various
women types of VAWG in the country, and in local jurisdictions)
▪ To what extent do they take action to prevent further violence based on
analysis, through: a. early intervention, b. quick response and removal of
the survivor and relevant others from violence, and c. arrest and removal
of the perpetrator from the scene of violence?
1.4 Encouraging ▪ To what extent so justice service providers actively encourage reporting
women to report of violence through provision of community information and ensuring
violence perpetrated police can be contacted 24 hours a day, 365 days a year ?
against them ▪ To what extent do they strive to increase women's confidence to report
by responding quickly and appropriately to reported acts of violence
against them.
ESSENTIAL 2.1 Availability ▪ To what extent are justice and policing services available to every survivor
SERVICE #2. regardless of her place of residence, nationality, ethnicity, caste, class,
INITIAL CONTACT migrant or refugee status, indigenous status, age, religion, language and
level of literacy, sexual orientation, marital status, disabilities, or any
other characteristics that need to be considered?
2.2 Accessibility ▪ Is access to police services available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year?
▪ Are they geographically accessible? (Or where not geographically
accessible, is there a mechanism in place that enables survivors to safely
contact/access police services through other available means?)
▪ Are they user friendly, and meets the needs of various target groups
including, for example, but not limited to those who are illiterate, visually
impaired, or do not hold citizen or resident status?
▪ Are justice premises safe and have women and child friendly spaces?
▪ Are police being free of charge and does accessing service not place undue
financial or administrative burdens on the victim/survivor?
▪ Are there steps taken to ensure survivors have access to needed "for fee
services” (such as, medical examinations, psychological support services)?
2.3 Responsiveness ▪ Can a survivor make a report at any time, at a location that is safe, private?
▪ and limits the number of people a survivor must deal with?
▪ To what extent do policy and practice reflect the survivor-centred
approach and principle of informed consent (i.e., especially in
determining whether or not to proceed with an investigation or court
process and not be punished for failing to cooperate when her safety
cannot be guaranteed)?
▪ Are there trained service providers being available to assist and support
the victim in filing her complaint?
20
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▪ Are justice service providers meeting a VAWG survivor non-judgmental,
empathetic, and supportive; proceed in a manner that prevents
secondary victimization; listens to her story; responds to the survivor's
concerns but is not intrusive, and ensures the survivor's privacy is
maintained?
▪ Are girl survivors able to express their views and concerns according to
their abilities, age, intellectual maturity, and evolving capacity?
ESSENTIAL 3.1 Cases of violence ▪ Are there policies in place that require justice service providers receiving
SERVICE #3. against women are VAWG reports of violence to explain a survivor’s rights, and the services
INVESTIGATION given high available to her throughout the justice process?
investigation priority ▪ Are there policies and procedures to immediately commence a survivor
sensitive investigation and ensure that reports are immediately
investigated and followed up?
▪ Are there mechanisms to ensure justice actions taken do not cause further
harm and that survivors are not asked to wait to make a report, or be in
any other way impeded in their effort to bring their case to the attention
of justice authorities?
▪ Are there mechanisms to ensure that suspects are arrested as soon as
practicable, and that suspects are required to submit to measures
implemented for the protection of victims?
3.2 Survivor ▪ To what extent does the justice response during investigation focus on the
medical and survivor's needs, keeping in mind the physical and mental trauma she has
psycho-social needs experienced, and her medical and social needs? (e.g., justice service
are addressed providers respond appropriately to problems that require immediate
medical response; justice service providers facilitate access to medical
assistance and medico-legal examinations)
3.3 Relevant ▪ Is a victim statement taken promptly, and in a professional, non-
information and judgmental, and victim sensitive manner?
evidence is collected ▪ Is the medico-legal examination conducted and documented a timely and
from the victim/ gender sensitive manner?
survivor and ▪ Is all available evidence that can lend credibility to the allegation collected
witnesses and is it collected in a respectful manner that maintains the dignity of the
survivor?
▪ Is the crime scene viewed, investigated, and protected to preserve
evidence?
▪ Are investigations working with girl survivors tailored to the unique
requirements of the age of the girl (e.g., interview rooms and interviews
are child friendly, procedures are child sensitive, the non-offending
parent/guardian is involved, victim support services are age appropriate,
and confidentiality is maintained)?
▪ Are witnesses and other persons who may have relevant information
identified and interviewed as soon as practicable (i.e., make every
attempt to corroborate the victim/survivor's statement)?
3.4 A thorough ▪ Is a thorough investigation conducted to ensure that the suspect is
investigation is identified, interviewed and when appropriate, arrested?
conducted ▪ Is there a thorough and well documented report that details
investigations conducted, and actions taken?
3.5 Professional ▪ To what extent is there organizational accountability established and
accountability is maintained throughout the investigation process e.g., the organization
21
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Services
maintained ensures that someone is assigned to the case, ensure investigations are
throughout the thorough and meet evidentiary requirements, ensure services are
investigation delivered to meet the survivor's needs?
▪ Is there a transparent and accountable complaint management system is
in place to address service complaints?
ESSENTIAL 4.1 Coordinated and ▪ Do justice service providers pro-actively seek information on any other
SERVICE #4. PRE- integrated on-going justice procedure (criminal, civil, family, administrative matters)
TRIAL PROCESSES approaches to that is relevant?
criminal, civil, family, ▪ Do they check for any outstanding protection and support orders and
and administrative provide such information to the courts? (Including information from other
law cases proceedings as appropriate within the justice system)
4.2 ▪ Does the primary responsibility for initiating prosecution rest with the
Primary justice service provider and not with the survivor?
responsibility for ▪ Do prosecution policies allow for victim agency? i.e., informing the
initiating prosecution survivor of any decisions concerning prosecution, unless she indicates
that she does not want this information; listening to the survivor before
any decisions concerning prosecution are made, etc.?
▪ Are there pro-prosecution policies to promote evidence building that
focuses on the credibility of the allegation rather than the credibility of
the survivor? (Including ensuring the collection of medico-legal and
forensic evidence referring to complementary guidelines in the Health
Module (essential service no. 7)
▪ Are barriers that place undue pressure on the survivor to withdraw
charges reduced?
4.3 Correct charge ▪ To what extent are there policies in place to ensure a decision regarding
and approval of the the correct charge and approval of the charge is made quickly and is based
charge made quickly on the application of fair procedures and evidential standards? And
ensures a decision regarding the charge reflects the gravity of the
offence?
▪ Is “violence against women” regarded as an aggravating or decisive factor
in deciding whether or not to prosecute in the public interest?
4.4 Accessible, ▪ Are civil, family, and administrative law procedures (family court, tort
affordable, and claims, pre-trial discovery procedure) accessible and affordable?
simplified ▪ Are family law cases are scanned for domestic violence concerns and
procedures to access treated in a distinct manner?
justice
4.5 ▪ Are there fast track procedures that can identify cases involving violence
Prioritization of cases against women and prioritize them in court dockets, etc.? Whether in
criminal justice or civil, family law and/or administrative matters?
▪ In cases of girl victims, do trials take place as soon as practical? (Unless
delays are in the child’s best interest)
4.6 ▪ To what extent is fair burden and evidentiary standards applied?
Application of fair ▪ Is all basic evidence collection completed before any decisions are made
procedures and about the case?
evidential standards ▪ Are delays at all stages of the decision-making in the prosecution
in all pre-trial reduced? (e.g., limiting the number of case continuances/adjournments,
processes taking into account the impact on the survivor).
▪ Are there pre-trial case management procedures that ensure that all
relevant information has been gathered?
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4.7 Victim / survivor ▪ To what extent are the service providers aware of and do they practice
centred, survivor-centred approach (e.g., are non-judgmental and supportive.
empowerment survivors have a safe environment, full participation, informed consent,
oriented and rights privacy, and confidentiality, respect their dignity and integrity, and
based pre-trial minimize intrusion into their lives.)
processes
4.8 Readiness for trial ▪ Are there mechanisms to ensure coordination of all key service providers
(police, health care providers, etc)?
▪ Are there implementation and oversight mechanisms to ensure readiness
for trial? e.g., attendance of critical witnesses; statements, analyses, and
evidence is compiled; justice service providers are competent to present
evidence in court in an ethical, objective, professional manner, etc.
▪ Are access for victim/survivor support, court familiarization and court
preparation services appropriately facilitated?
4.9 No forced ▪ Is mediation or restorative justice15 only allowed where procedures are in
mediation, place to guarantee no force, pressure or intimidation has been used?
alternative dispute
resolution in cases
involving violence
against
4.10 ▪ Where there are signs that the suspect may be a victim/survivor of
Special violence against women, are there policies and procedures to ensure that
considerations for evidence gathering appreciates the context of the violence she has
victims / survivors experienced, for example, evidence that may support a self-defence
who are suspected or claim?
accused of criminal ▪ Are there mechanisms to perform a psychological examination to
behaviour determine the mental state of the suspect?
▪ Are considerations made for vulnerabilities of suspects that are survivors
of VAWG?
ESSENTIAL 5.1 Safe and friendly ▪ To what extent are there sufficient support mechanisms for survivors?
SERVICE #5. TRIAL court room e.g., allowing a support person to be with the survivor during the trial
/ HEARING environment process; removing all unnecessary persons, including the alleged
PROCESSES offender, whilst the victim/witness gives her evidence; ensuring no direct
Victims contact between victim/survivor and accused, using court-ordered
restraining orders, or ordering pre-trial detention, etc.
▪ Are there mechanisms to notify appropriate authorities in the case of or
suspicion of the victim/survivor being harmed or at risk of being harmed
during the trial or hearing process?
5.2 Protection of ▪ To what extent are available measures that can protect the
privacy, integrity, victim/survivor’s privacy, integrity and dignity applied for during the
and dignity hearing process? E.g., disallowing any misstatements or attempts to
intrude too far on the witnesses’ safety; removing any identifying
information such as names and addresses from court’s public record or
15
The use of mediation or restorative justice practices to address issues of violence against women is complicated for many
reasons but mainly because there is already an unequal power relationship between the victim/survivor and the perpetrator
which is often further perpetuated and exploited in such processes. Whilst guidelines have been provided in relation to this
process, its use should be carefully considered taking into account the dynamics of intimate partner violence, issues of power
and safety concerns (UN Women et al., 2015c).
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use a pseudonym for the survivor, excluding public and media from
courtroom during the girl’s testimony, where permitted by national law.
5.3 ▪ To what extent are measures that can facilitate the survivor’s testimony
Opportunity for full in hearing applied? E.g., measures that permit the victim to testify in a
participation manner that allows her to avoid seeing the accused, for example screens,
behind closed doors, closed circuit television (CCTV).
▪ Are case management approaches adopted that ensure the survivor has
an opportunity to fully participate in the proceedings with the least
amount of secondary victimization and reduce the survivor’s stress, etc.?
▪ Are there child-sensitive procedures for girl survivors?
5.4 ▪ Is the survivor given the opportunity to give details of the impact
Opportunity to give of the crime if she wishes to do so? And are there different options
details of the for her to submit this information at trial?
impact of the crime
5.5 Non- ▪ To what extent do the processes in criminal justice or civil, family law
discriminatory systems ensure all relevant evidence is brought before the court,
interpretation and including allowing expert witnesses with experience on
application of complexities of violence against women and girls?
evidentiary rules ▪ Are complaints regarded as credible and valid unless contrary is
clearly indicated?
▪ Are steps taken to mitigate the potential impact of existing
discriminatory evidentiary rules and procedures? e.g., disallow any
questioning that relies on myths and stereotyping, or about the
survivor’s sexual history when it is unrelated to the case.
▪ Does the application of the rules (in particular gender-based
cautionary rules) and principles of defence discriminate against
women or allow perpetrators of violence against women to escape
criminal responsibility?
5.6 ▪ To what extent are considerations at criminal trials made for survivors
Special who have been charged with criminal offences?
considerations for ▪ Are steps taken to mitigate the potential impact of existing discriminatory
survivors who have evidentiary rules and procedures? E.g. object to or disallow any unfair,
been charged with unnecessarily repetitive, aggressive, and discriminatory questioning by
criminal offences the prosecution
ESSENTIAL 1.1. Justice ▪ To what extent are there sentencing policies that ensure consistent
SERVICE #6. outcomes sentences commensurate with the gravity of the crime and meet the goals
PERPETRATOR commensurate of deterring violence against women, stopping violent behaviour,
ACCOUNTABILITY with the gravity promoting victim and community safety, and taking into account impact
AND of the crime and on victims/survivors and family? Do they consider aggravating factors for
REPARATIONS focused on the sentencing purposes? e.g., repeated violent acts, abuse of a position of
safety of the trust or authority, perpetration of violence against a spouse or against a
victim/survivor person under 18 years of age.
▪ Are there policies and procedures to inform survivors of any release of the
offender?
▪ Do court decisions of family law cases that involve violence against
women take into account the impacts to the victim/survivor and her
24
and Justice
Services
family, particularly on the victim’s children, and on other relevant
persons?
▪ Are there timely, effective, gender sensitive and age-appropriate civil
remedies for the different harms suffered by women and girls?
6.2 Participation of ▪ To what extent is there opportunity for victims/survivors to tell the court
victims / survivors at the physical and psychological harm and the impact of victimization at the
sentencing hearings, sentencing hearing?
in applicable ▪ Are survivors allowed a role in sentencing through a broad range of
jurisdictions methods that suit individual needs (for example, written or oral victim
impact statements, victim impact reports done by experts such as social
workers)?
▪ Are procedures simple, accessible, and free?
▪ In the case of girl victims, are the procedures are child-sensitive?
6.3 Available and ▪ To what extent are reparations are considered in criminal cases? E.g.,
accessible options for restitution and financial compensation for harms done to the survivor is
reparations prioritized ahead of fines and penalties and should not preclude the victim
in pursuing civil or other remedies
▪ In civil, family law and/or administrative matters, are there compensation
schemes to provide timeliness of compensation to the survivor, ensure no
fee is charged for application to compensation, make available, where
possible, legal aid and other forms of legal assistance?
6.4 Reparations that ▪ Is the calculation of the survivor’s damage and costs incurred as a result
cover consequences of the violence are as expansively defined as possible, and aim to be
and harms suffered transformative?
by victim/survivor
6.5 Enforcement of ▪ To what extent are remedies decided upon effectively enforced?
remedies ▪ Are there measures to monitor the effective enforcement of remedies?
6.6 Redress when ▪ To what extent are there a broad range of damages provided caused by
essential justice the denial, undermining or unreasonable delay of justice? E.g., damages
services are denied, for lost wages, livelihoods and other expenses caused by the denial or
undermined, delay; damages for emotional, psychological harm; actual expenses in
unreasonably seeking such redress, including transportation.
delayed, or lacking ▪ Is there a process for claiming redress against the State? Is it simple, free,
due to negligence and safe?
ESSENTIAL 7.1 Interventions ▪ Does the rehabilitation treatment programme reduce risk for the repeat
SERVICE #7. POST that prevent re- of the offense and promotes victim/survivor safety?
TRIAL PROCESSES offending focus on ▪ To what extent are the perpetrators assessed for suitability prior to
survivor safety acceptance into a rehabilitation programme?
▪ Is a risk assessment conducted with the safety of victim/survivor?
▪ Is there appropriate supervision of rehabilitation programmes?
▪ Are there appropriate consequences for perpetrators who do not
satisfactory complete their programmes?
7.2 Prevention of and ▪ Are there services in place for women in detention who experienced
response to violence violence against women prior to detention?
of women who are ▪ Is further victimization of female prisoners during visits by abusive
detained for any intimate or former intimate partners?
reason ▪ Are there special measures to protect women who are detained with their
children?
25
and Justice
Services
▪ Are there accessible support and measures for redress for violence
occurring during detention?
7.3 Reduction of ▪ To what extent are there detention and post detention services provided
exposure to violence for female offenders to reduce their exposure to violence?
of female offenders ▪ Are there rehabilitation and re-integration programmes to include skills
in detention and post programmes, vocational training, and capacity building to ensure female
detention services offenders who have been victims of violence can avoid past abusive
environments?
ESSENTIAL 8.1 Access to ▪ Are there immediate and urgent protection measures accessible to all
SERVICE #8. immediate, urgent, survivors?
SAFETY AND and long-term
PROTECTION protection measures
8.2 Enforcement of ▪ Is there prompt service of protection orders?
protection measures ▪ Are roles and responsibilities for enforcement of protection measures
clearly defined?
▪ Is there appropriate monitoring of protection measures?
▪ Is any breach responded to immediately?
▪ Are justice service providers held accountable for inaction in enforcement
of protection measures?
8.3 Risk assessment ▪ To what extent is the risk assessment supported by timely gathering of
intelligence, seek survivor perspective on potential threat, and implement
strategies to eliminate or reduce victim/survivor risk?
▪ Are there ongoing risk assessments to identify changes in survivor
vulnerability and are appropriate measures taken to ensure the victim
remains safe?
8.4 Safety planning ▪ To what extent are safety plans developed and implemented based on risk
assessment?
▪ Are safety plans reviewed and updated on an on-going basis?
8.5 ▪ Are there policies and procedures to maintain the safety of the survivor,
Prioritization safety her family and relevant others?
concerns in all ▪ Does any decision concerning the release of the suspect or offender take
decisions into account the risk to the victim/survivor and consider her safety?
8.6 Coordinated ▪ Is there a registration system for protection orders to ensure all justice
protection measures service providers have quick access to the relevant information?
▪ Can information be exchanged legally and safely, protecting
confidentiality of the survivor?
8.7 Coordinated ▪ To what extent are there integrated protocols and effective referral
protection and networks to arrange and supervise emergency measures?
support services ▪ Are there coordinated efforts to develop standards for referral services?
▪ Are there support measures such as child support or alimony available to
assist the survivor to safely rebuild her life?
ESSENTIAL 9.1 Practical, ▪ Is there a broad range of information, including, at a minimum a clear
SERVICE: 9. accurate, accessible, description of justice processes in various languages and formats to meet
SUPPORT AND and comprehensive the needs of different groups of women?
ASSISTANCE information ▪ Is timely information about a survivor’s case available to her, including her
role and opportunities for participating in the proceedings?
9.2 Legal services ▪ Are legal services are provided by the prosecution office? Are these
affordable?
▪ Are administrative processes to obtain legal aid free and simple?
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and Justice
Services
▪ In civil, family law and/or administrative matters, are there a broad range
of legal services, e.g., legal information, legal advice, legal assistance, and
legal representation? Including where survivors have been accused of, or
charged with a criminal offence?
9.3 Victim and ▪ What types of support services are available to survivors? E.g.,
witness support psychological support, practical assistance, court preparation and support
services ▪ Are they provided throughout the justice continuum?
▪ Are support services tailored to individual survivor’s needs? e.g., child
friendly support services for both girls.
▪ Are the support persons professionals or trained in the complexity of
violence against women and justice systems?
9.4 Referrals to ▪ To what extent do justice service providers work with other service
health and social providers to develop and implement integrated protocols and effective
service providers referral networks? To
▪ Are there standards for referral services?
ESSENTIAL 10.1 Simple and ▪ Is there adequate and timely information on available services provided
SERVICE: 10. accessible in a manner that considers the needs of various target groups?
COMMUNICATION information about
justice services
10.2 ▪ To what extent the communications between justice service providers
Communications and the survivors are survivor-centred? E.g., non-judgmental, empathetic,
promote the dignity and supportive, her complaint is regarded as credible and valid unless the
and respect of contrary is clearly indicated, she is treated with respect
survivor ▪ Do communicators use plain language that is patiently explained?
▪ Are there mechanisms to ensure the victim/survivor’s privacy is
maintained, and the confidentiality of all information is kept?
10.3 Ongoing ▪ To what extent is regular communication maintained with the survivor
communication with throughout the justice process? E.g., including about any change in the
the victim/ survivor level of risk she is exposed in case the suspect has escaped, or has been
released and is on bail or parole
▪ Is there a justice service provider assigned to follow-up with the survivor
and provides her with contact information for immediate response in the
event of anticipated or actual violence or breach of protection order?
▪ Is there a mechanism in place to provide police reports to survivors and/or
their legal team to facilitate action in related legal matters?
10.4 Regular and ▪ To what extent is there effective information sharing amongst justice
effective service providers?
communication ▪ Is informed consent for disclosure of information sought from the survivor
between justice and/or parents/guardians and legal representative of the girl survivor?
agencies ▪ Are there protocols and referral mechanisms/pathways that promote
timely and efficient flow of information amongst justice service providers?
10.5 Communication ▪ Is information is shared with other agencies within privacy and
by justice agencies confidentiality requirements?
with other agencies ▪ Is informed consent for disclosure sought from the victim/survivor
wherever possible?
ESSENTIAL 11.1 Coordination ▪ Do the integrated and coordinated justice responses incorporate broad
SERVICE: 11. amongst justice stakeholder involvement?
COORDINATION sector agencies ▪ To what extent to justice agencies have a shared understanding of
violence against women issues and the survivor-centred principles?
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and Justice
Services
AMONG JUSTICE ▪ To what extent is there a consistent and coordinated approach to case
AGENCIES management, risk assessment, safety planning among justice sector
agencies?
Table 3. Essential Policing and Justice Services, Core Elements and Key Questions
Note: Some of the questions may be repetitive, however, each one is listed in each of the Essential Justice
Services and Core Elements in order to ensure that the survivor-centred approach is embedded in each
stage of a survivor’s contact with the justice system.
This detailed list of key questions aims to guide the researchers to look at all aspects of the survivors’
experience with the justice system. Nonetheless, upon the design of the sampling and conduct of the
specific GBV Service Assessment of Policing and Justice Services, these Key Questions can be consolidated
and prioritised based on the respondents and methods of data gathering selected. As with the table on
the health essential services (Table 2), this table can be used for a comprehensive GBV Service Assessment
that includes a Self-Assessment Survey to be conducted with justice service providers and police.
3.2.2. Methods to gather information to answer the Key Questions for Justice and Policing
The long list of key questions outlined in the above section can be answered through a combination of
the following methods of data gathering. Some questions can be answered by more than one method and
would be useful in order to validate data through the various sources of information.
For example, information on services available may be reported in national documents or human rights
reports submitted by the State to various international human rights committees (e.g., CEDAW, CDC);
however, it would be useful for the purpose of the GBV Service Assessment to validate how these services
are functioning at the community level. Thus, responses gathered to the above questions via a document
review can be complemented and validated by the information from interviews or FGDs from community
members or NGO representatives.

information on the availability and quality of policing and justice services for GBV survivors, along with
information on existing protocols (to validate any desk review) and gather additional information on
formal and informal practices among justice service providers. It is useful to conduct KIIs with:
1.1. Police / women’s desk officers, including women’s police networks
1.2. Public prosecutors / Public Attorneys and other justice service professionals from government
institutions
1.3. Justices (and if any, to include justices of special DV / VAW courts, family court, members of women’s
judges association, etc.)
28
1.4. Representatives from national government agencies responsible for GBV legal services and local
government (e.g., VAW focal points, DC, or Assistant DC16, Deputy Director of District Women Affairs,
Sub Inspector at Policewomen help desk, etc.)
1.5. Human rights defenders, women’s rights lawyers and other justice service professionals from NGOs
providing legal services to GBV survivors
1.6. Gender and Access to Justice programme managers from NGOs/ INGOs and UN agencies (ex: UNDP,
UNODC, UN Women)
2. Document Review
studies reporting on the state of policing and justice services for GBV survivors. The following
information are important to gather during a desk review:
2.1. Search for mapping reports and/or directory or list of what justice services and programmes are in
place for GBV survivors17
2.2. Legal frameworks are in place and identify the gaps and law reform needs to ensure a comprehensive
legal framework for the effective delivery of quality essential justice and policing services18.
2.3. Existing joint and sector justice policies and practices, (identify whether there are specific policies on
VAW for the justice and policing sectors and if they are linked to national policy and action plans, and
whether such policies are integrated into existing justice and policing services)
2.4. Government reports on budgets, resources, and financing in place for the functioning
of justice services.
2.5. Documents on current workforce capacity and development and training approaches.
2.6. Documents on current ability of the justice and policing sectors to monitor and evaluate service
delivery or documents on governance, oversight, and accountability mechanisms currently in place.
by government.19
2.8. Identify any networks, partnerships or alliances providing justice services to GBV survivors; this can
also help inform respondents for other primary data gathering (KIIs, and FGDs)

Discussions with community members that are composed of a good representation of users and
community providers of policing and justice services for GBV survivors can provide greater detail and
insight regarding the quality of these services. Moreover, in countries where there is limited data on GBV
issues and priority safety needs of women and girls, the GBV Service Assessment FGDs can also include
questions to identify the most pressing needs of women and most urgent GBV threats present in the
communities. Suggested organisation of focus group discussions include having separate FGDs conducted
for the following stakeholders:
16
17
18
For guidance, please see the UN Women Legislation Handbook: https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-
library/publications/2012/12/handbook-for-legislation-on-violence-against-women
19
29
Associations, etc.)
3.5. Community volunteers tasked with safety and security
government and NGO service providers.
(as opposed to just a rapid assessment), Self-Assessment Surveys can be conducted with police and justice
service providers from government and NGOs in all the Divisions and Districts in the country. The
questions in Table 3. Essential Policing and Justice Services, Core Elements and Key Questions serve as the
main questionnaire to conduct this survey.

3.3. Assessing Essential Social Services

The provision of quality social services forms a vital component of coordinated multi-sectoral responses
for women and girls subject to violence, and these comprise a range of services that are critical in sup-
porting the rights, safety and wellbeing of women and girls experiencing violence including crisis
information and help lines, safe accommodation, legal and rights information and advice (UN Women,
UNFPA, WHO, UNDP, & UNODC, 2015d).
As highlighted in the ESP Module on Social Services, quality social services for GBV survivors are women-
focused, child-friendly, do not blame the survivor, assist women and children to consider the range of
choices available to them, and support their decisions.
Below is a checklist of important steps and considerations for conducting an assessment specifically of
the social services for GBV survivors, drawn from the ESP Module 6 Implementation Guide (UN Women
et al., 2015f):
1. Consult with relevant stakeholders in the social services sector such as:
 Organizations with specific responsibility for implementation of essential services including ministries
responsible for social services; social service providers; civil society organizations; academics;
organizations that represent victims/survivors; and victims/survivors.
30
 Key stakeholders and actors responsible for developing policies and protocols, involved in
coordination, and involved in providing services, as well as members of the community, leaders of the
community and women’s organizations.
 Other stakeholders with a role or interest in responding to violence against women and girls.
2. Assess current enabling factors:

 Identify what legal frameworks are in place to promote protection for women and support the
delivery of safe, effective, and ethical social services and where gaps exist.
 Identify existing policies and practices, whether there is a specific violence against women social
services policy and if it is linked to national policy and assess how policies regarding social services for
women subjected to violence are integrated into existing social services. Identify existing social
services plans, protocols, or other guiding frameworks. What is the level of implementation of policies,
plans and protocols, including gaps and bottlenecks, access barriers by sub-groups?
 Identify what resources and financing are in place and the minimum requirements for the functioning
of those services (e.g., social services budgets; infrastructure and locations). What is the availability
of products / commodities and technology that enable confidentiality, privacy, and safety? If
minimum requirements have not been identified, consult with organizations currently providing
services, and their donors, regarding true costs of provision of services and where more resourcing is
needed.
 Identify the current workforce capacity and development and training approaches. In the social
services sector this includes initial training, continuing education and in-service training; inter-sectoral
team building; and social services work force supervision and mentoring.
 Identify governance, oversight, and accountability mechanisms currently in place. Whether an
institutional coordination mechanism exists at national or subnational levels, how it is
functioning, which stakeholders are involved and who is not participating that should be. Identify
groups of people that are more vulnerable to violence and seek ways to involve representatives of
those groups to participate (for example people with disabilities). Identify processes to hold
organisations and institutions accountable for their responsibilities.
 Identity the current ability of the social services sector to monitor and evaluate service delivery. Are
there information systems in place? Is there possibility to have client feedback and assessment and
other methods to track the quality of services?
3. Search for reports (if any) that map existing essential social services in terms of availability,
accessibility, responsiveness, adaptability, appropriateness; analyse quality and identify gaps,
particularly regarding:
o Locations where services are concentrated and where there are gaps?
o How are services being financed and what costs are for victims /survivors?
o The level of quality and users’ experience?
o Who is accessing them and who is not?
o What is the quality of services provided at different types of facilities (e.g., crisis centres, one stop
centres, clinics and hospitals, shelters, women’s advocacy centres, places of worship/faith-based
groups)?
o Do the facilities provide safety (e.g., security guard or police presence) and confidentiality (e.g.,
substituting the victim / survivor’s name with a client number or alias, policies on confidentiality, (e.g.,
location of the facility is kept secret)?
31
3.3.1. Standards of Essential Social Services and Key Questions for Assessment
The standards proposed below are the Core Elements identified in the Essential services package for
women and girls subject to violence-Module 4 Social Services (UN Women et al., 2015d). Whilst the
guidelines may be applicable to other forms of violence against women, they have mainly been developed
to respond to women and girls who have experienced intimate partner violence, and non-partner sexual
violence, including the specific needs of girl mothers and their children20.
Essential Social Core Elements Key Questions
Services
ESSENTIAL SERVICE 1.1 Information ▪ Is crisis information clear, concise, and accurate?
#1. CRISIS content ▪ Does crisis information identify and refer to the range of existing services
INFORMATION available for women and children?
1.2 Information ▪ Is crisis information widely available and accessible to all women and
provision children?
▪ Is information offered in different forms ensuring that it is also suitable
for women and children suffering multiple forms of discrimination (e.g.,
women and children with disabilities, children)
▪ Is there widespread distribution of culturally sensitive information
through various and relevant media, in a variety of locations and settings
throughout the region/ country?
ESSENTIAL 2.1 Availability ▪ Is crisis counselling provided free of charge?
SERVICE: 2. CRISIS ▪ Are women and girls are listened to, believed, and offered a range of
COUNSELLING options e.g., immediate access to safe and secure accommodation,
Crisis emergency, and safe medical services?
▪ Are women and girls supported to make informed choices?
2.2 Relevance ▪ Is the crisis counselling appropriate to the various forms of violence
experienced by the woman/girl?
2.3 Accessibility ▪ Is crisis counselling provided through a range of methods including in

person, via telephone, mobile phone, email?
▪ Is crisis counselling provided in various locations and diverse settings?
ESSENTIAL 3.1 Availability ▪ Are there telephone help lines free of charge or toll-free? Preferably 24
SERVICE: 3. HELP hours a day, 7 days a week; or at a minimum, for four hours per day
LINES including weekends and holidays?
▪ Do staff answering help lines have appropriate knowledge, skills and are
adequately trained?
▪ Are there help line protocols connecting it with other social services, and
health and justice services to respond to individual circumstances of
women and girls?
▪ Does the help line have access to resources to ensure the safety of
women and girls, e.g., emergency transport of women and girls to safe
accommodation regardless of location; immediate basic health care
20
“The focus is primarily on the social service response to violence against women and girls (and their children) after the violence
has occurred and taking action on the early signs of violence, or intervening to prevent the reoccurrence of violence. The
guidelines are complemented by the focus of UNICEF, which, amongst other things, works to ensure all children live free from
violence. There has been significant guidance and responses developed for children as victims of violence.” (UN Women et al.,
2015d).
32
Services
items including food and clothing; links to immediate and appropriate
police and justice responses?
3.2 Accessibility ▪ Is information about the service and hours of operation clearly and
accurately communicated in appropriate channels?
▪ Is the telephone service accessible via mobile phones?
ESSENTIAL 4.1 Safe houses, ▪ Is there safe and secure emergency accommodation until the immediate
SERVICE: 4. SAFE refuges, women’s threat is removed, with security measures in place, e.g., confidential
ACCOMMODATION shelters location (where possible), security personnel & systems?
Many ▪ Is there an access protocol for people entering and exiting safe
accommodation?
▪ Are there basic accommodation facilities free of charge, including a
protocol for children/unaccompanied children, including for longer-term
alternative care where necessary and appropriate, that is aligned to
existing national legislation and international standards?
▪ Is accommodation accessible for women and girls with disabilities?
4.2 Responsiveness ▪ Are there spaces within the accommodation that ensure privacy and
confidentiality for women and girls?
▪ Does the accommodation address the needs of children and is child
friendly?
▪ Is there capacity and protocol to assess immediate needs and develop an
individualized support plan for the woman/ children, in consultation with
them?
ESSENTIAL 5.1 Availability ▪ • Provide support to access immediate basic individual needs of each
SERVICE: 5. woman and girl including access to emergency transport, food, safe
MATERIAL AND accommodation free of charge
FINANCIAL AID ▪ • Ensure aid provides for the needs of individual children • Provide in-
In kind and other non-monetary aid such as basic personal and health care
items • Facilitate access to social protection such as cash transfers where
these are available can be accessed at short notice
▪
5.2 Accessibility ▪ • Ensure a range of means for women and girls to safely access material
and financial aid
ESSENTIAL 6.1. Availability ▪ Are there capacities / protocols to assist women and girls to establish or
SERVICE: 6. re-establish their identity in accordance with the local legal specifications
CREATION, or international protocols, where necessary? E.g., including to liaise with
RECOVERY, appropriate foreign affairs/ consular services; provide assistance to
REPLACEMENT OF create, recover or replace identity documents free of charge
IDENTITY
DOCUMENTS
Identity
ESSENTIAL 7.1 Availability ▪ Is information about their rights provided to women and girls, e.g., on
SERVICE: 7. LEGAL available security measures from alleged perpetrator, procedures and
AND RIGHTS timelines involved in justice solutions, and available support?
INFORMATION, ▪ Do information and advice include referral to essential services as agreed
ADVICE AND by, and with the consent of the woman/girl?
REPRESENTATION ▪ Are legal and rights information, representation, advice, and legal
INCLUDING IN advocacy provided free of charge? Are this advice documented?
PLURAL LEGAL 7.2 Accessibility ▪ Is timely information, advice, and representation about options to
SYSTEMS support women and girl’s immediate safety provided? (Including in a
33
Services
written form and in a language that the woman/girl can understand,
orally, and/or in a form with which the woman is familiar)
▪ Are the information and advice in accordance with the availability of the
woman/ girl, that is, at a time and location that is suitable to the
woman/girl?
ESSENTIAL 8.1 Individual and ▪ Are individualized and group counselling provided where appropriate, by
SERVICE: 8. group counselling professionals with specialist training?
PSYCHO-SOCIAL ▪ What other services are offered, e.g., peer group support,
SUPPORT AND ▪ Is counselling human rights-based and culturally sensitive?
COUNSELLING 8.2 Accessibility ▪ Is support/counselling provided free of charge; including transport
options to support women to attend sessions, and at a time suitable for
the woman/girl?
ESSENTIAL 9.1 Availability ▪ Is women and child-centred support available for women and girls
SERVICE: 9. throughout their journey through the system; and provided by staff
WOMEN-CENTRED trained to respect the expressed wishes and decisions of women and
SUPPORT girls?
▪ Is representation on behalf of women and girls carried out with their
explicit and informed consent?
ESSENTIAL 10.1 Availability ▪ Are child-centred rights-based counselling and psycho-social support
SERVICE: 10. provided free of charge? (Including an individualized care plan, access to
CHILDREN’S emergency and long-term alternative care, if required, with or without a
SERVICES FOR ANY parent/caregiver, in line with the Guidelines of the Alternative Care of
CHILD AFFECTED Children21,
BY VIOLENCE ▪ Is legal representation for children provided, where required?
The ▪ Are timely referrals and access to necessary services facilitated? E.g.,
child protection to address issues regarding guardianship, health care
and education
10.2 Accessibility ▪ Are services that provided age appropriate, child sensitive, child friendly
and in line with international standards?
▪ Are they provided by staff with training on child-sensitive and child-
friendly procedures
ESSENTIAL 11.1 Community ▪ Does community information include information about the rights of
SERVICE: 11. information women and girls and the range of services available to support them?
COMMUNITY Note: At a minimum community information should include: • Where to go
INFORMATION, for help • What services are available and how to access them • What to
EDUCATION AND expect, including roles, responsibilities, confidentiality
COMMUNITY ▪ Is community information developed and disseminated in a range of
OUTREACH formats, a variety of locations and in a culturally appropriate and
sensitive manner?
11.2 Community ▪ Is community education regular and accurate and includes information
education and about the rights of women and girls? Including target specific groups such
mobilization as community/religious leaders and elders, to support service provision
▪ Is there appropriate training for men to advocate for women’s human
rights to act as role models and as support systems?
▪ Is there work with families to ensure support and access to services for
women and girls?
21
Available at: https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/united-nations-guidelines-alternative-care-
children#:~:text=The%20Guidelines%20seek%20to%20ensure,needs%20of%20the%20child%20concerned.
34
Services
▪ Is there work with local associations, media, schools, community sport
clubs to tailor community education messages and dissemination
strategies?
▪ Are there clear protocols to support the safety of women where they may
be contacted by the media to tell their story?
11.3 Community ▪ Do services identify hard to reach and vulnerable groups and understand
outreach their specific needs? With community information tailored to the specific
needs of hard to reach, vulnerable and marginalized groups?
▪ Is community information and education delivered in ways appropriate
for hard to reach?
ESSENTIAL 12.1 Availability ▪ Is there sustained support for holistic recovery for a minimum of six
SERVICE: 12. months?
ASSISTANCE ▪ Do women have access to income assistance and social protection where
TOWARDS required? Including access to vocational training, income generating
ECONOMIC opportunities such as seed funding for business start-up?
INDEPENDENCE, 12.2 Accessibility ▪ Is there safe reintegration of women and girls/children back into the
RECOVERY AND community, where appropriate, according to her express wishes and
AUTONOMY needs?
Table 4. Essential Social Services, Core Elements and Key Questions
3.3.2. Methods to gather information to answer the Key Questions for Social Services
Information and responses to the Key Questions above can be collected through a combination of primary
data gathering (e.g., interviews, focus group discussions, consultation workshops, etc.) and secondary
data gathering (e.g., review of documents, legislation, protocols, and reports, etc.)
Some questions can be answered by more than one method and would be useful in order to validate data
through the various sources of information. For example, information on services available may be
reported in national documents or human rights reports submitted by the State to various international
human rights committees (e.g., CEDAW, CDC); however, it would be useful for the purpose of the GBV
Service Assessment to validate how these services are functioning at the community level. Thus,
responses gathered to the above questions via a document review can be complemented and validated
by the information from interviews or FGDs from community members or NGO representatives.

information on the availability and quality of social services for GBV survivors, along with information on
existing protocols (to validate any desk review) and gather additional information on formal and informal
practices among social service providers. It is useful to conduct KIIs with:
1.1. Social Service officers
1.2. Crisis and Psychosocial Counsellors
35
1.3. Representatives from national government agencies responsible for social services and local
government related to VAW (e.g., VAW focal points, DC, or Assistant DC22, Deputy Director of District
Women Affairs, etc.)
1.4. Social service and shelter professionals from NGOs
1.5. Gender and GBV programme managers from NGOs/ INGOs and UN agencies
2. Document Review
studies reporting on the state of social services for GBV survivors. The following information are
important to gather during a desk review:
2.1. Search for mapping reports and/or directory or list of what social services and programmes are in
2.2. National frameworks and protocols regarding referral pathways to assist women and girls to receive
timely and appropriate support service
of social services.
2.4. Documents on current workforce capacity and development and training approaches.
2.5. Documents on current ability of the social sector to monitor and evaluate service delivery or
documents on governance, oversight, and accountability mechanisms currently in place.
by government.24
2.7. Identify any networks, partnerships or alliances providing social services to GBV survivors; this can
also help inform respondents for other primary data gathering (KIIs, and FGDs)

Discussions with community members that are composed of a good representation of users and
community providers of social services for GBV survivors can provide greater detail and insight regarding
the quality of these services. Moreover, in countries where there is limited data on GBV issues and priority
safety needs of women and girls, the GBV Service Assessment FGDs can also include questions to identify
the most pressing needs of women and most urgent GBV threats present in the communities. Suggested
organisation of focus group discussions include having separate FGDs conducted for the following
stakeholders:
22
23
24
36
Associations, etc.)
3.5. If researchers have the needed skills, discussions can also be held with survivors of GBV who are in
shelters or those who became community advocates against GBV
government and NGO service providers.
(as opposed to just a rapid assessment), Self-Assessment Surveys can be conducted with health service
providers from government and NGOs in all the Divisions and Districts in the country. The questions in
Table 4. Essential Social Services, Core Elements and Key Questions serve as the main questionnaire to
conduct this survey.

3.4. Coordination and Governance of that Coordination

Coordination and governance of coordination are intertwined functions that continually inform and con-
tribute to each other, and the accountability function of governance should identify strengths and
weaknesses of coordination and lead to modifications that enhance laws, policies and practices (UN
Women, UNFPA, WHO, UNDP, & UNODC, 2015e).
The ESP Module 5 on Coordination and Governance of Coordination(UN Women et al., 2015e) highlights
the importance of essential coordination actions, not least of all is the benefit for survivors: a coordinated
response results in increased safety, by placing them at the centre of any intervention or institutional
response. Below are other important benefits of a coordinated response:
 It is more effective in keeping victims/survivors safe from violence and holding offenders accountable
than when different sectors of society work in isolation.
 Gives survivors access to informed and skilled practitioners who share knowledge in a supportive
environment.
 Recognises survivors’ multiple needs, which can be met through co-locating services and referral
networks.
 Information sharing among agencies can reduce the number of times victims and survivors are asked
to tell their stories, thus reducing the risk of re-traumatization.
 Integrated care models mean that victim/survivors’ psychosocial, sexual health and other health
needs are more likely to be addressed holistically.
37
 By complying with minimum standards partner agencies can deliver more consistent responses, and
clarity about roles and responsibilities means that each sector can excel in its area of expertise, and
each professional’s work is complemented by that of other agencies and professionals.
 Coordination can result in greater community awareness of the availability of services to support
victims/ survivors and send a message that violence against women will not be tolerated.
 Coordination results in greater impact and reach of programmes, at a lower cost through pooling
financial and human resources and by reducing duplication of effort; and
 Shared data systems can support individual case management, such as ensuring an appropriate
response to the results of on-going risk assessment and can serve as a source of information for
monitoring and evaluating the program.
The Figure 4 below shows the common components of a coordinated response:

(1) Enhancing inter-agency relationships
(2) Changing institutional policies and practices
(3) Increasing access to and improving service delivery
(4) Raising awareness of survivor rights
The ESP Coordination Guidelines focus on ensuring a cohesive cross-agency approach for responding to
violence against women and girls and protecting victims and survivors from further harm. While the
Guidelines may be applied to other forms of violence against women and girls, they are primarily intended
for situations of intimate partner violence, and non-partner sexual violence; primarily on responding to
violence against women and girls (and their children) after the violence has occurred, taking action at the
earliest stages of violence, and intervening to prevent the reoccurrence of violence (UN Women et al.,
2015e).
38
Figure 3. Common Components of a Coordinated response
3.4.1. Standards of Essential Actions for Coordination and governance of coordination

The standards proposed below are drawn from the Core Elements identified in the Essential services
package for women and girls subject to violence-Module 5 on Coordination and Governance of
Coordination(UN Women et al., 2015e); which can be reviewed for more details on the Guidelines. The
Assessment of Coordination shall be conducted alongside the assessment of the Essential Health, Policing
and Justice and Social Services. Below are the general or more high-level questions to assess the
coordination for GBV services and national and local levels:
National Level Coordination
ESSENTIAL ACTION: 1. LAW AND POLICYMAKING
1.1. Are there laws and policies that address violence against women and girls? Addressing all forms
of violence against women while ensuring that responses are tailored to specific forms, respects
human rights standards, follows survivor-centred principles, and ensures offender accountability?
1.2. Do they create and strengthen government agencies and organizations and other structures that
have a role in responding to violence against women?
1.3 Are there laws and policies for coordination of Essential Services at the national and local level
that require appropriate information sharing among agencies, prioritises confidentiality for
survivors, and require sufficient availability of police and justice services, social services, and
health care services to meet the needs of victims and survivors?
ESSENTIAL ACTION: 2. APPROPRIATION AND ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES
39
2.1. To what extent is there adequate funding and other resources for coordination and governance of
coordination? (Including guidelines for estimating cost of coordinating services, establishing
mechanisms for timely funding, wide participation, and transparency in budget allocation process,
tracking resource expenditures to promote accountability, and resource mobilisation)
2.2. To what extent is there coordination among relevant policymaking entities at the national level
that integrate violence against women and girls’ issues across all relevant policy areas?
ESSENTIAL ACTION: 3. STANDARD SETTING FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF LOCAL LEVEL COORDINATION

3.1. Are there standards being followed for creating local coordinated response that allow for efficient use
of resources (by avoiding unnecessary duplication of services), participation of all critical parties, a
role for survivors as leaders to the process without creating a risk to their safety, participation by
underrepresented or marginalized groups, etc.?
3.2. Are there standards being implemented for agency accountability for coordination including
on monitoring the coordination of responses by the police and justice sector, social service, and health
care sector, and follows up on cases to learn outcome and improve responses (including review of
fatalities to reduce risk of future homicides).
3.3. Are there systems for the recording and reporting of data that obtain consent of survivors before
recording personally identifiable information (PII), protect confidentiality and privacy of victims and
survivors when collecting, recording, and reporting PII, keep PII data secure, etc.?
ESSENTIAL ACTION: 4. INCLUSIVE APPROACHES TO COORDINATED RESPONSES
5.1. Are there mechanisms for participation that include representation of marginalized and vulnerable
groups in all stages of policymaking and coordination, ensure voices of young women and girls are
heard with attention to particular vulnerabilities they face, and tailor strategies aimed at the specific
issues experienced by different groups?
ESSENTIAL ACTION: 5. FACILITATE CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT OF POLICYMAKERS AND OTHER DECISION

MAKERS ON COORDINATED RESPONSES
5.1. To what extent is there capacity development that provide resources and guidance for organizational
and financial stability, program quality and growth, as well as training for national and regional
policymakers on coordinated response to violence against women and girls?
5.2. Are there multi-disciplinary training standards and cross sectoral training based on common
understanding of violence against women and girls, common definitions, and how intervention from
each sector contributes to enhancing victim/ survivor safety?
ESSENTIAL ACTION: 6. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF COORDINATION AT NATIONAL and LOCAL

LEVELS
7.1. Are there functional standards and protocols for monitoring and evaluation for national and local
levels?
7.2. To what extent is there sharing and reporting good practice and findings of monitoring and
evaluation?
7.3. To what extent is there transparency whilst maintaining confidentiality and minimising risk?
Local Level Coordination

ESSENTIAL ACTION: 1. CREATION OF FORMAL STRUCTURE FOR LOCAL COORDINATION AND GOVERNANCE
OF COORDINATION
40
1.1. To what extent are there standards and structures for coordination that support the participation of
local institutions and organization that are consistent with international human rights standards, take
a survivor-centred approach grounded in women and girls’ human right to be free from violence?
ESSENTIAL ACTION: 2. IMPLEMENTATION OF COORDINATION AND GOVERNANCE OF COORDINATION

2.1. To what extent is there an effective implementation of local level coordination and governance of
coordination guided by an action plan that is aligned with national level strategy and developed via
consultative processes, and creates linkages to other local responses to violence against women and
girls?
2.2. Are there agreements for agency membership and participation in coordination mechanisms?
2.3. Is there case management/ case review process that provide accessible services to victims/survivors
taking into account geographic accessibility, affordability, availability of providers, understandable
information, etc. and ensures ongoing risk assessment and safety planning?
2.4. Are there standard operating procedures for coordination mechanisms that create a protocol for
referrals and interactions among service providers, carry out training across sectors according to
agreed standards, and develop linkages with third parties (for example, schools)?
2.5. Are there community awareness interventions on violence against women and girls
2.6. To what extent is there monitoring and evaluation that is aligned with national monitoring and
evaluation framework, identify baselines and indicators for measuring progress, require agencies to
collect and share agreed data, develop capacity and resources for monitoring and evaluation, and
include victims/survivors in monitoring and evaluation process?
3.4.2. Methods for Assessing Coordination and Governance of the Coordination of the GBV Multi-Sectoral
Responses
The above Key Questions to assess the Coordination and Governance of Coordination of GBV
Multisectoral Response can be included in the data gathering and tools for the GBV Service Assessment
of any of the Essential Services Assessment (i.e., Health, Policing and Justice, Social Services). If there are
key informants that are mainly responsible for the coordination of GBV responses, these would be helpful
to hold stand-alone interviews with.

information on the availability and quality of the country’s multisectoral GBV response and coordination
mechanisms, along with information on existing protocols (to validate any desk review) and gather
additional information on formal and informal practices among service providers. It is useful to conduct
KIIs with:
1.1. Managers and officers from the Multi-Sectoral Programme on Violence Against Women (MSPVAW)
1.2. Representatives from national government agencies responsible for social services and local
government related to VAW (e.g., VAW focal points, DC, or Assistant DC25, Deputy Director of District
Women Affairs, etc.)
1.3. Gender and GBV programme managers from NGOs/ INGOs and UN agencies
25
41
2. Document Review
studies reporting on the state of social services for GBV survivors. The following information are
important to gather during a desk review:
2.1. Search for mapping reports and/or directory or list of what social services and programmes are in
2.2. National frameworks and protocols regarding coordination, multi-sectoral responses, and referral
pathways to assist women and girls who experienced GBV to receive timely and appropriate support
service
of coordination of GBV services and response
2.4. Documents on current workforce capacity and development and training approaches on service
coordination
2.5. Evaluation reports on the functioning of the coordination mechanisms and compliance with
coordination protocols
2.6. Identify any networks, partnerships or alliances providing support to strengthen the government’s
coordination and governance of coordination of GBV essential services.
3.5. Summary of Data Sets and Methodologies for GBV Service Assessments
Data Sets Methods of Sources Notes (e.g.,
Data Gathering coordinating entity,
links)
1. Identification of the - KIIs - KIIs with government and NGO Compile list of
particular standards of - Literature & service providers and institutional specific key
quality essential health, Programme management informants with the
policing and justice, and Document - Human Rights Observations, help of MSPVAW as
social services for GBV Review Recommendations and Reports (e.g., well as NGOs/UN
survivors that are being met - Self- CEDAW, CRC), both from State and agencies with the
and not met Assessment shadow reports from NGOs relevant expertise in
Surveys - UN and other INGO Rapid each sectoral
- Policy Review Assessments (if available) response (i.e., health,
- NGO Programme Reports (e.g., policing & justice,
Baseline, Situation, Evaluation social services)
reports, etc.)
2. Presence or absence, and - KIIs - KIIs with government officials
quality and effectiveness of - FGDs (national and local levels)
the Foundational Elements27 - Policy and - KIIs with government and NGO
for services and service protocol service providers and institutional
delivery to be of high quality review management
- FGDs with NGOs working in each
sectoral response
- Policy Document review includes
Policies, protocols, budgets, M&E
systems, and reports
26
27
The Six (6) Foundational Elements: Comprehensive legislation and legal framework; Governance oversight and
accountability; Training and workforce development; Gender sensitive policies and practices; Resource and
financing; and Monitoring and evaluation
42
3. Community women and - FGDs - FGD participants to include Work with shelters
girls’ experiences regarding (separate for community members, women’s and experienced
the functionality and quality adult women rights grassroots leaders / activists counsellors and case
of essential GBV services and older - FGD with GBV survivors or those managers to identify
/younger who have become a community and ensure safety of
adolescents, if advocate or shelter staff (If all respondents and
deemed researchers are skilled in interviewers
necessary) interviewing GBV survivors)
- FGD with girl and/or other child GBV
survivors
4. Analysis of gaps, - Assessment - Workshops with both NGO and CBO Select participants
factors/barriers to quality and Planning representatives most familiar with
essential GBV services, and Workshops Note: Participants may not be able to GBV sectoral
identification of (also to identify all the solutions for all the responses (can be
recommended actions to validate any barriers. You may need to consult with held as one big
improve the quality and information others before finalizing the action plan. workshop for all
functionality of GBV essential from desk For example, visiting specific NGOs that essential services
services review) work with women with disabilities, or together or with a
particular local government separate workshop
institutions, which is a target site for an for each)
upcoming project, etc.
Table 5. Summary of Data Sets to be gathered in a GBV Service Assessment, Methods and Sources
43
4. Guiding Principles and Good Practices in Essential Services for GBV
Survivors
The following overlapping principles underpin the delivery of all essential services and coordination of
those services (UN Women et al., 2015a):
▪ A rights-based approach
▪ Advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment
▪ Culturally and age appropriate and sensitive
▪ Women-centred or survivor-centred approach
▪ Safety is paramount
▪ Perpetrator accountability.
A rights-based approach Rights-based approaches to the delivery of quality essential services recognize
that States have a primary responsibility to respect, protect, and fulfil the rights of women and girls.
Violence against women and girls is a fundamental breach of women and girls’ human rights, particularly
her right to a life free from fear and violence.
A human rights approach calls for services that prioritize the safety and well-being of women and girls and
treat women and girls with dignity, respect, and sensitivity. It also calls for the highest attainable standards
of health, social, justice and policing services – services of good quality, available, accessible, and
acceptable to women and girls
Advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment The centrality of gender inequality and
discrimination, as both a root cause and a consequence of violence against women and girls, requires that
services ensure gender sensitive and responsive policies and practices are in place. Services must ensure
that violence against women and girls will not be condoned, tolerated, or perpetuated. Services must
promote women’s agency where women and girls are entitled to make their own decisions, including
decisions that refuse essential services.
It is important to understand that: violence against women is rooted in unequal power between women
and men; that woman may have less access than men to resources, such as money or information, and
they may not have the freedom to make decisions for themselves; women may be blamed and stigmatized
for violence and may feel shame and low self- esteem.
In practice, a provider must, at a minimum, avoid reinforcing these inequalities and promote women’s
autonomy and dignity by:
 being aware of the power dynamics and norms that perpetuate VAW
 reinforcing her value as a person
 respecting her dignity
 listening to her story, believing her, and taking what she says seriously
 not blaming or judging her
 providing information and counselling that helps her to make her own decisions.
Culturally and age appropriate and sensitive Culturally and age appropriate and sensitive essential
services must respond to the individual circumstances and life experiences of women and girls taking into
account their age, identity, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, and language
preferences. Essential services must also respond appropriately to women and girls who face multiple
forms of discrimination—not only because she is a woman, but also because of her race, ethnicity, caste,
44
sexual orientation, religion, disability, marital status, occupation, or other characteristics—or because she
has been subjected to violence.
Survivor-centred Survivor-centred approaches place the rights, needs and desires of women and girls as
the centre of focus of service delivery. This requires consideration of the multiple needs of the survivor.
Here is a quick checklist on how to ensure that services are survivor-/women-centred:

 being non-judgmental and supportive and validating what the woman is saying
 providing practical care and support that responds to her concerns, but does not intrude
 asking about her history of violence, listening carefully, but not pressuring her to talk (care should
be taken when discussing sensitive topics when interpreters are involved)
 helping her access information about resources, including legal and other services that she might
think helpful
 assisting her to increase safety for herself and her children, where needed
 providing or mobilizing social support.
Providers should ensure:

 that the consultation is conducted in private
 confidentiality, while informing women of the limits of confidentiality (e.g., when there is
mandatory reporting)
 informed consent
Care and health services for women who have been subjected to violence should be woman-centred –
that is, they should be organized around women’s health needs and perspectives. A woman-centred
health response offers care that:
- takes actions to enhance women’s safety.
- minimizes or does no harm and maximizes benefits of how services are designed and delivered.
- takes into account women’s perspectives.
- responds to women’s needs and concerns in humane and holistic ways.
- provides women with information and supports them to make informed choices and decisions.
- empowers women to participate in their own care (World Health Organization (WHO), 2017).
Safety is paramount The safety of women and girls is paramount when delivering quality services.
Essential services must prioritize the safety and security of service users and avoid causing her further
harm
Perpetrator accountability Perpetrator accountability requires essential services, where appropriate, to

effectively hold the perpetrators accountable while ensuring fairness in justice responses. Essential
services need to support and facilitate the victim/survivor’s participation with the justice process,
promote her capacity of acting or exerting her agency, while ensuring that the burden or onus of seeking
justice is not placed on her but on the state.
45
5. Conducting GBV Service Assessments: Ethical Considerations and
Safety Recommendations
The main ethical concern related to researching any topic related to violence against women is the
potential to inadvertently cause harm or distress, especially when interviewing women and girls who have
experienced gender-based violence. Potentially threatening and traumatic nature of the subject matter
include issues of confidentiality, problems of disclosure, and the need to ensure adequate and informed
consent (Ellsberg & Heise, 2002). Key Principles to follow throughout the research process:
1. Respect for persons at all stages of the research process
2. Minimizing harm to respondents and research staff
3. Maximizing benefits to participants and communities
Box 1 below summarizes key ethical and safety recommendations that should guide all GBV-related
research. Recommended actions that should be taken to ensure that the research adheres to these
principles are also briefly described below with a checklist of dos and don’ts.
Box 1. WHO ethical and safety recommendations for domestic violence research28 (WHO, 2001)
● The safety of respondents and the research team is paramount and should infuse all project decisions.
● Protecting confidentiality is essential to ensure both women’s safety and data quality.
● All research team members should be carefully selected and receive specialised training and ongoing
support.
● The study design must include a number of actions aimed at reducing any possible distress caused to
the participants by the research.
● Fieldworkers should be trained to refer women requesting assistance to available sources of support.
Where few resources exist, it may be necessary for the study to create short-term support mechanisms.
● Researchers and donors have an ethical obligation to help ensure that their findings are properly
interpreted and used to advance policy and intervention development.
● Violence questions should be incorporated into surveys designed for other purposes only when
ethical and methodological requirements can be met
1. The safety of the respondents and the research team is paramount and should guide all project
decisions
 Ensure the physical safety of respondents and interviewers from potential retaliatory violence by
the perpetrator or perpetrators
 Do not announce in the community that you are conducting a study on VAW, instead it can be
introduced as “study on women’s health and life experiences”.
 When asking for informed consent already, the woman respondent should then be informed of
the nature and sensitivity of the interview questions (See Annex 2 for sample consent forms).
 Give the respondent the opportunity to either stop the interview or not answer the questions at
any time.
28
The summary of points does not include two WHO recommendations: “Prevalence studies need to be
methodologically sound and to build upon current research experience about how to minimise the under-reporting
of abuse” and “Violence questions should be incorporated into surveys designed for other purposes only when
ethical and methodological requirements can be met” which are not relevant to this GBV Service Assessment
Methodology as it is not concerned with conducting a VAW prevalence study.
46
 Interviews should only be conducted in a private setting. Participants should feel free to
reschedule or relocate at a time or place safer and more convenient for her.
 Interviewers should be trained to terminate or change the subject of discussion when the
interview is interrupted by anyone--including children. A short diversionary questionnaire on
women’s health can be developed.
 Logistics planning and budgeting for interviewers: travel in pairs, carry mobile phones, use
designated transport, assign a male escort to accompany teams to neighbourhoods known to be
unsafe for women alone, especially if interviews will reach the evenings.
2. Protecting confidentiality is essential to ensure both women’s safety and data quality.
 No interviewers should conduct interviews in their own community.
 Participants should be informed of confidentiality procedures as part of the consent process.
 No names should be written on questionnaires. Instead, unique codes should be used to
distinguish questionnaires. Where identifiers are needed to link a questionnaire with the
household location or respondent, they should be kept separately from the questionnaires, and
upon completion of the research, destroyed.
 If there is a need for study documentation, women should be asked specifically whether
photographs may be taken and shown and must agree to this as part of the informed consent
process.
3. All research team members should be carefully selected and receive specialized training and support.
 Fieldworkers must confront and overcome their own biases, fears, and stereotypes regarding
abused women; overcome victim blaming
 Regular debriefing meetings during fieldwork is advised to discuss feelings about the situation,
and how it is affecting interviewers.
 Interviewers should not take on the role as counsellor or take on the personal mission of trying to
“save her”
4. The study design must include a number of actions aimed at reducing possible distress caused to the
participants by the research.
 All questions about violence and its consequences should be asked in a supportive and non-
judgmental manner
 All interviews should end in a positive manner reinforcing the woman’s coping strategies and
reminding her that the information she shared is important and will be used to help other women.
 Interviewers should affirm that no one deserves to be abused and inform the respondent of her
rights under the law.
5. Fieldworkers should be trained to refer women requesting assistance to available sources of

support. Where few resources exist, it may be necessary for the research to create short-term support
mechanisms.
 A list of resources should then be developed and offered to all respondents, irrespective of
whether they have disclosed experiencing violence or not.
 The resource list should either be small enough to be hidden or include a range of other services
so as not to alert a potential perpetrator to the nature of the information supplied.
 Where few resources exist, it may be necessary to have a trained counsellor or women’s advocate
accompany the interview teams and provide support on an “as needed” basis.
47
6. Researchers and donors have an ethical obligation to help ensure that their findings are properly
interpreted and used to advance policy and intervention development.
 It is important that research findings are fed into ongoing advocacy, policy making and
intervention activities.
 Do not withhold critical research findings, especially from the attention of the policymakers and
advocates best positioned to use them.
 One way to improve the relevance of research projects is, from the outset, to involve advocacy
and direct service groups either as full partners in the research or as members of an advisory
committee.
6. Timeline and Costs
6.1. Eight Steps to undertake GBV Service Assessment 29
Stage 1: Situation and Data Audit Comprehensive Rapid

Assessment Assessment
1. Preparing for the Assessment 2 to 3 weeks 1 week
1.1. GBV Service Assessment/Research Design and Plan
for the Assessment
1.2. Ethics Approval (if relevant)
1.3. Funds
1.4. Partnerships and Key Stakeholders
1.5. Approvals to conduct research with various service
institutions (especially government)
1.6. Forming and training research/assessment team
Stage 2: Analysis and Co-Design

2. Developing the Sampling Frame and Deciding Who to 1 week 2 weeks
Interview
3. Developing and/or Adapting the Tools 1 week

4. Testing and Finalising the Tools 1 week
Stage 3: Evidence Gathering and Conclusions
5. Data Gathering 3 weeks 2 weeks
6. Data Management, Analysis and Synthesis of Key 2 weeks
Findings
Stage 4: Drafting of GBV Service Assessment Report and

Recommendations & Validation
7. Drafting of GBV Assessment Report 3 weeks 2 weeks
8. Validation and Finalisation
TOTAL 13 to 14 weeks 7 weeks
Note this time frame includes the estimated time to get approvals and receive comments from the UN offices/NGOs
commissioning the GBV Service Assessment.
29
Adapted from: How to conduct a situation analysis of health services for survivors of sexual assault (Christofides,
Jewkes, Lopez, & Dartnall, 2006)
48
Sample of Districts
While the document review and KIIs with national government officials and national NGOs shall include
information and assessment of GBV services in the whole country, a sample of the districts can be selected
for the conduct of the local Primary Data Gathering (i.e., KII with DC and local NGO and service providers,
community leaders and members, women’s grassroots organisations, etc.)
Below is an example of Districts to include, applying the following criteria:

1. Targeting 25% of the Districts in each Division
2. Districts with largest populations in their respective Divisions
Division No. of Districts District Names

Barisal 1 Patuakhali
Chittagong 3 Chittagong, Comilla, Noakhali
Dhaka 4 Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Tangail
Khulna 2 Jessore, Satkhira
Mymensingh 1 Mymensingh
Rajshahi 2 Bogura, Sirajganj
Rangpur 2 Dinajpur, Rangpur,
Sylhet 1 Sylhet
Total = 16 Districts
49
6.2. Indicative Budget for Conducting a GBV Service Assessment for all Health, Policing
and Justice Essential GBV Services
S/N Description Unit Unit Rate Number Total cost (in USD)
1 International Consultant Days 400 40 16,000.00
2 National Consultant Days 300 30 9,000.00
Local Transportation of National

Consultant from Dhaka to 16
3 Districts (average cost applied) District 200 16 3,200.00
Local Accommodation & Meals in
during local travel of Natioal
Consultant to 12 Districts;
excluding the 4 in Dhaka for a 2-
day/2 night visit (average cost
4 applied) Days 75 24 1,800.00
Assessment and Planning
5 Workshop Participants 40 50 2,000.00
6 Validation Workshop Participants 40 50 2,000.00
Administrative (Communication,
Scanning/printing documents,
Project management oversight ex:
compliance with safeguarding
standards, Quality assurance and
7 accountability) 1,000.00
Total cost (in USD) excluding VAT 35,000.00
50
Total Number of Consultant Days
Stage 1: Situation and Data Audit
1. Preparing for the Assessment
1.1. GBV Service Assessment/Research Design and Plan for the
Assessment
1.2.Ethics Approval (if relevant)
1.3.Funds
1.4.Partnerships and Key Stakeholders
1.5. Approvals to conduct research with various service
institutions (especially government)
1.6.Forming and training research/ assessment team 3 2 5
Stage 2: Analysis and Co-Design
2. Developing the Sampling Frame and Deciding Who to

Interview 2 1 3
3. Developing and/or Adapting the Tools
3 0 3
4. Testing and Finalising the Tools 3 3 6
Stage 3: Evidence Gathering and Conclusions
5. Data Gathering (including Assessment and Planning
Workshop) 7 16 23
6. Data Management, Analysis and Synthesis of Key Findings 5 5 40
Stage 4: Drafting of GBV Service Assessment Report and
Recommendations & Validation
7. Drafting of GBV Assessment Report 10 0
8. Validation Workshop/s and Finalisation 7 3 10
Total per consultant 40 30 90
Budget Notes
1. The sampling of Districts may be selected based on other criteria as advised by local GBV service
experts.
2. The budget covers the timeframe to assess health, policing & justice, and social services, which is
estimated to total 40 International consultant and 30 national consultant days across 3 months.
3. The budget assumes the national consultant is based in Dhaka. In the event that local partners can
conduct the assessment per District, the transport cost can be decreased, and replaced with a
researcher training workshop to be held in Dhaka for partners from all Divisions.
51
7. Assessment Tools
7.1. Key Informant Interview Tools30
Important Guidance Notes for Researchers:

(1) The GBV Service Assessment researcher/team should identify key informants from government
and nongovernmental service provision agencies, as well as from women’s rights organisations,
GBV prevention and response advocates and other actors in civil society working in the GBV space
before beginning the assessment.
(2) Individual interviews take time; you should take into account the available resources and time
during the prioritization of key informants to be targeted.
(3) Some of these questions are sensitive; you should review ethical considerations and safety
guidelines listed in Section 4 of this Methodology Document prior to the interview; particularly
considering the security of all stakeholders involved. It is possible to take out some questions if
necessary due to security or other concerns. Fill out only the sections that are relevant to your
key informant.
(4) Researchers should be trained on Ethical Guidelines and Safety Recommendations (WHO, 2001)
and shall comply with principles of confidentiality and informed consent.
(5) It is unlikely that you will need to involve children in information collection as part of this rapid
assessment. Be sure to revisit the WHO guidelines and to think through other means of gathering
relevant information regarding the situation for girls under 18.
7.1.1. Interviews with women’s rights organisations / NGOs familiar with the status of the country’s GBV
response (in health, social services and policing and justice)
Notes on Criteria for Respondents:

a. Respondents for this KII should have significant experience in GBV response and working with VAWG
survivors (e.g., more than 5 years). Ideally, the respondents should be familiar with the survivor-
centred approach and trauma-informed care principles and processes.
b. There should be a good and balanced representation of NGO respondents working in the health,
social service as well as the justice/police sectors.
c. If applicable and practicable, this tool can also be used to interview respondents from government
agencies, e.g., managers from MSPVAW, government officials from agencies that have partnerships
with UN agencies such as with UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, UNODC, IOM or with other
INGOs/NGOs etc. working on GBV response.
1. In your opinion, what are the main health services/policing & justice services/social services that
are most readily available and meeting the standards for essential services for GBV survivors in
most of the country?
2. Which areas (Divisions and Districts) have the least access to GBV health services/policing &
justice services/social services?
3. In your opinion, what are the main health services/policing & justice services/social services that
are least readily available and are not meeting the standards for essential services for GBV
survivors in most of the country?
30
Tools are adapted from the IRC GBV Assessment Toolkit in the GBV Assessment & Situation Analysis Tools (UNFPA,
International Medical Corps, Global Protection Center, & Australian Government Aid Program, 2012)
52
4. What are the main strengths in the country’s GBV response and provision of essential services for
GBV survivors?
5. What are the main gaps in the country’s GBV response and provision of essential services for GBV
survivors?
6. What are the major factors/barriers influencing the quality of health services? Policing and justice
services? Social services?
7. Which GBV services were most impeded by the Covid-19 crisis? Why?
8. Which particular groups and populations are most excluded, vulnerable, and marginalized in
terms of access to GBV services (i.e., based on their age, identity, culture, sexual orientation,
gender identity, ethnicity, disability, and language preferences)?
9. Are there specific groups of women that are discriminated in terms of GBV services due to their
individual circumstances or experiences (e.g., divorcees, unmarried women and youth, women in
prostitution, refugee or IDP, rape victims, etc.)?
10. To what extent is there a strong comprehensive legal framework that provides the legal and
judicial basis for survivors’ seeking health, social services, justice, and policing services; and how
are these implemented? What are the biggest gaps?
11. Is care for women experiencing intimate partner violence and sexual assault integrated into
existing health/justice and social services rather than as a stand-alone service?
12. Is priority given to providing training and service delivery at the primary level of care?
13. Are health-care providers, justice service actors and social service officers trained in gender-
sensitive sexual assault care and examination available at all times of the day or night (on location
or on-call) at a district/area level?
14. To what extent are there governance, oversight and accountability mechanisms that allow elected
and government officials to ensure that the State’s duty to provide quality essential services is
met; and how effective are these mechanisms? Some examples include facilitating dialogue on
whether and how guidelines should be implemented; determining the quality-of-service
standards; monitoring compliance with service standards; and identifying systemic failures in
their design, implementation, and delivery. What are the biggest gaps?
15. Are there reviews and consultations done to identify how guidelines should be implemented to
operationalise service standards?
16. To what extent are there resources and financing required to build and sustain each sector, as
well as an integrated coordinated system, that has capacity and capability to provide quality
essential services that effectively and efficiently respond to violence against women and girls?
What are the biggest gaps?
17. What resources and financing are available to build and sustain the essential services according
to the WHO guidelines (particularly those that are strongly recommended)?
18. How are local government offices and agencies supported to ensure proper allocation of
resources for quality health services for GBV survivors at the various local government levels (i.e.,
District, Upazila and Union)?
19. Is training and workforce development available to ensure that sector agencies and coordination
mechanisms have the capacity and capability to deliver quality services? If not, what are most
lacking?
20. Do service providers offering care to women receive in-service training, ensuring it:
- enables them to provide first-line support with basic knowledge about violence, including on laws that
are relevant to victims of intimate partner violence and sexual violence and knowledge of existing
services that may offer support to survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual violence (this
could be in the form of a directory of community services)
53
- teaches them appropriate skills, including when and how to enquire about IPV, the best way to
respond to women, how to conduct forensic evidence collection where appropriate, etc.
- corrects / transforms inappropriate attitudes among health-care providers (e.g., blaming women for
the violence, expecting them to leave, etc.), as well as their own experiences of partner and sexual
violence
21. Is training for both intimate partner violence and sexual assault integrated in the same
programme, given the overlap between the two issues and the limited resources available for
training health-care providers on these issues?
22. Is there regular monitoring and evaluation, that can inform the continuous improvement of the
sectors to deliver quality services to women and girls experiencing violence? If not, what are the
biggest gaps?
23. What monitoring mechanisms are in place to ensure compliance with service standards and
identify systemic failures in the health programmes’ / services’ design, implementation, and
delivery?
24. Are policies in each sector and for coordination mechanisms gender sensitive and linked to
national policies, (as well as to a National Action Plan to Eliminate Violence against Women) in
order for each sector to work alongside other services in an integrated way to provide the most
effective response to women and girls subjected to violence?
25. Are GBV essential health services integrated into a coordinated system that has capacity and
capability to provide quality essential services that effectively and efficiently respond to violence
against women and girls?
7.1.2. Interviews with health service, justice and policing services, and social service providers (for
Government and NGO)
Division and District:

Upazila and Union:
Name of institution:
Key informant’s role institution: _____________________________________________________
Interview date:
Place of interview:
Translation necessary for the interview: Yes No
If yes, the translation was from ____________________(language) to ____ (language)
Sex of key informant:

o Male
o Female
A. AVAILABILITY
1. Did you provide services before the COVID-19 crisis?
o Yes
o No
2. Did you provide services during the COVID-19 crisis?

o Yes
o No
54
3. What type of services do you currently provide to survivors of GBV? *Read each type of service to the
respondent. Check all that apply.
Health o Care of injuries and urgent medical

o Identification of survivors of intimate treatment
partner violence o Sexual assault examination and care
o First line support o Mental health assessment and care
o Documentation (medico-legal)
Social Services
o Crisis information o Psycho-social support and counselling
o Crisis counselling o Women-centred support
o Help lines o Children’s services for any child affected by
o Safe accommodations violence
o Material and financial aid o Community information, education, and
o Creation, recovery, replacement of identity community outreach
documents o Assistance towards economic
o Legal and rights information, advice, and independence, recovery, and autonomy
representation, including in plural legal
systems
Justice Services
o Prevention o Post-trial processes
o Initial contact o Safety and protection
o Assessment/investigation o Assistance and support
o Pre-trial processes o Communication and information
o Trial processes o Justice sector coordination
o Perpetrator accountability and reparations
4. What specific psychosocial services do you provide?

o Basic emotional support
o Case management / psychosocial support
o Group activities
o Other? _____________________________________________
5. Are your psychosocial services provided by?
o Trained volunteers
o Partners (NGO, CBO, etc.) with these expertise
o Trained Staff of your organization
6. Do you have complete post-rape kits available? Note: If they do not have all of the 5, check No, and
the specific ones they have.
o Yes
o No
Check all that applies:
o PPE o Hepatitis B vaccination
o Emergency contraception o Tetanus vaccination
o STI medicines
7. Do you have a safe, confidential space to receive survivors?
55
o Yes
o No
8. In your opinion, do you have a sufficient number of the following health professionals to meet the
service needs of GBV survivors in your area?
8.1. Nurses 8.4. Gynaecologists o No
o Yes o Yes 8.7. Forensic technicians
o No o No o Yes
8.2. Doctors 8.5. Surgeons o No
o Yes o Yes 8.8. Others, please specify:
o No o No _________
8.3. Midwives 8.6. Forensic doctors/ o Yes
o Yes pathologists o No
o No o Yes
9. Do women and girls in the whole District, including remote, rural, and isolated areas have access to
comprehensive services without discrimination? If not, in which Upazilas, Unions or Wards are health
and social services for GBV survivors absent? In which are they lacking?
10. To what extent are services delivered to reach all populations, including the most excluded, remote,
vulnerable, and marginalized without any form of discrimination regardless of their individual
circumstances or their age, identity, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, and
language preferences? If not, which populations excluded from GBV services?
11. Is there continuity of care across the network of GBV services and over the woman’s life cycle?
12. Do you know of any innovative service delivery models being used in the country to broaden coverage
of service delivery e.g., mobile health clinics, use of modern IT solutions, mobile applications?
B. ACCESSIBILITY
13. Are police, emergency health and social services free of charge? If not, which ones are charged and
for how much?
14. Are the “for fee” services affordable (e.g., medical examinations, psychological support services)? If not,
ow much are the main services that you believe are not affordable?
15. Are service delivery procedures and other information about essential services available in multiple
access and meet the needs of different target groups? If not, what are the biggest gaps regarding
accessibility of information on GBV services/
C. ADAPTABILITY
16. To what extent do you think the services respond to the individual circumstances and needs of each
survivor, integrating human rights and culturally sensitive principles?
17. To what extent do you think there is a comprehensive range of services provided to allow women and
girls to have options to services that best meet their individual circumstances?
D. APPROPRIATENESS, PRIORITISES SAFETY, INFORMED CONSENT & CONFIDENTIALITY, EFFECTIVE

COMMUNICATION & PARTICIPATION BY STAKEHOLDERS
18. Have the medical personnel received any specialized training on clinical care and forensic service for
survivors of GBV? List the main types of training received.
o Yes
o No
56
19. Have the medical personnel received any specialized training on the provision of care for child
survivors of GBV?
o Yes, how many? ___
o No
20. What specific age groups do your activities serve?
o Children
o Young adolescents (10-14)
o Older adolescents (15-18)
o Adult women (18-59)
o Elderly (60+)
21. Do you have GBV focal points in the organisation?
o Yes
o No
And are they trained in survivor-centred approach31?
o Yes
o No
22. Do the trainings for health-care providers on intimate partner violence and sexual assault include
different aspects of the response to intimate partner violence and sexual assault (e.g., identification,
safety assessment and planning, communication and clinical skills, documentation, and provision of
referral pathways)?
23. To what extent are efforts made to reduce secondary victimisation for the survivor; for example, by
minimising the number of times she has to relay her story, reducing the number of people she must
deal with, and ensuring trained personnel are available?
24. Do you work in partnership or coordination with other government agencies and other local
NGOs/CBOs? If so, which organizations?
25. What kinds of training have your medical/legal staff, volunteers and social workers received (related
to GBV response)?
26. To what extent do service providers (health/justice / social services) use risk assessment and
management tools specifically developed for responding to intimate partner violence and non-
partner sexual violence?
27. To what extent are safety measures taken to support the safety of women and girls? What are the
biggest gaps?
28. To what extent do women and girls receive a strengths-based, individualized plan that includes
strategies for risk management as part of the GBV services they access?
29. To what extent do agencies including health, social services, justice, and policing services coordinate
their risk assessment and management approaches?
30. To what extent are service providers non-judgmental, empathetic, and supportive, wherein women
and girls have the opportunity to tell their story/ be listened to?
31. Is there a code of ethics for the exchange of information (in accordance with existing legislation), and
to what extent is this followed, and are women and girls informed it?
31
This includes the principles of confidentiality, respecting privacy and obtaining informed consent, along with the
following:
• Women and girls are supported to fully understand their options.
• Women and girls are empowered to feel able to help herself and to ask for help.
• Women and girls’ decisions are respected after ensuring she fully understands the options available to her.
• Services should be delivered in a way that responds to her needs and concerns without intruding on her autonomy.
57
E. DATA COLLECTION AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
32. To what extent are information relating to women and girls treated confidentially, and stored
securely?
33. To what extent are there policies and procedures to ensure accurate and efficient data collection that
are used in understanding the prevalence of violence, trends in using the essential services, evaluation
of existing services and inform prevention measures?
F. LINKING WITH OTHER SECTORS THROUGH REFERRAL AND COORDINATION

34. To what extent are there procedures between services for information sharing and referral known
and followed by agency staff, and communicated clearly to women and girls?
35. Do the sectoral service providers have mechanisms for coordinating and monitoring the effectiveness
of referrals processes?
36. Do they refer to child specific services as required?
Difficulties / Challenges
37. What are the significant challenges your organization faces in service provision?
38. Do you turn away women and girls because of a lack of available resources and/or expertise?
o Yes
o No
Assets and Strengths

39. What are strengths and community assets that support your organisation’s delivery of quality
essential services to GBV survivors?
40. What recommendation or good practice would you want to highlight or share that can be a source of
learning for other agencies / districts?
41. Other Comments:
Contact Person for the Organization

Name: ______________________________________________________
Telephone: _______________________________ Email: ___________________________________
58
7.2. Focus Group Discussion Guides
7.2.1. FGD with community members, leaders, or civil society (local NGO, grassroots, or community-
based organisations) working on GBV response
Notes on Criteria for Respondents:
a. The NGO / CBO respondents intended in this KII are different from the ones to be interviewed with
Tool 6.1.1. in that these respondents should ideally live in the sample communities and represent
community-based or grassroots organisations or are members of the marginalised groups
themselves, e.g., women with disabilities, young women, female IDPs, rural women, etc.
b. Respondents for this FGD should either have some experience in GBV response and working with
VAWG survivors or is a concerned community member who is familiar with women’s experiences
accessing GBV services in their community. It is possible to hold 2 separate FGDs for community
leaders and community members if there are concerns regarding power dynamics or possible
reluctance of community members to share openly in front of community leaders.
c. If applicable and practicable, this tool can also be used to interview respondents from government
officials and formal and informal elites / leaders at local government community levels e.g., Union
parishad members, women vice-chair, standing committee members. Ideally, government
respondents should be familiar with GBV services and processes in accessing these services in the
communities.
Guidance on Conducting FGDs:

1. The research team should ensure participants that all information shared within the discussion
will remain confidential.
2. If a documenter takes down notes, s/he will not have any information identifying or associating
individuals with responses.
3. Ask the group to respect confidentiality and not to divulge any information outside of the
discussion. The group should be made of like members – community leaders, women, youth, etc.
– should not include more than 6 to 8 participants and should not last more than one to one-and-
a-half hours.
Focus group discussion facilitator:

Documenter (if applicable):
Division and District:
Upazila and Union:
Name of organisation / association (who helped gather participants):
Participant’s roles in the community (e.g., parishad members, youth leaders, members of women’s
groups/changemakers, etc.):
FGD date:
Place of FGD:
Translation necessary for the interview: Yes No
If yes, the translation was from ____________________ (language) to ____ (language)
Sex of FGD participants:
o All male
o All female
o Mixed / how many: Male _____ Female ______
Age of FGD participants:
o Young adolescents (10-14)
o Older adolescents (15-18)
59
o Adult women (18-59)
o Elderly (60+)
KEY STEPS BEFORE THE FGD:

 Introduce all facilitators and translators
 Present the purpose of the discussion:
- General information about your - No one is obligated to share names or
organization personal experiences if s/he does not
- Purpose of the focus group discussion is wish
to understand available services to - Be respectful when others speak
women and girls who have experienced - The facilitator might interrupt
GBV discussion, but only to ensure that
- Participation is voluntary everyone has an opportunity to speak
- No one is obligated to respond to any and no one person dominates the
questions if s/he does not wish discussion
- Participants can leave the discussion at
any time, and with no need to give an
explanation
 Agree on confidentiality:
- Keep all discussion confidential
- Do not share details of the discussion later, whether with people who are present or not
- If someone asks, explain that you were speaking about the health problems of women and girls
 Ask permission to take notes/photos:
- No one’s identify will be mentioned
- The purpose of the notes is to ensure that the information collected is precise
- Do not take any photos without written permission form all participants
Introduction: “The purpose of this FGD is to help the government, NGOs, and UN agencies to understand
available services to women and girls who have experienced Gender-based violence (GBV).
Gender based violence is “any act of violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman or that
affects women disproportionately”.
Intimate partner violence is “the most common form of violence experienced by women globally . . . and includes a
range of sexually, psychologically and physically coercive acts used against adult and adolescent women by a current
or former intimate partner, without her consent. Physical violence involves intentionally using physical force,
strength or a weapon to harm or injure the woman. Sexual violence includes abusive sexual contact, making a woman
engage in a sexual act without her consent, and attempted or completed sex acts with a woman who is ill, disabled,
under pressure or under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Psychological violence includes controlling or
isolating the woman and humiliating or embarrassing her. Economic violence includes denying a woman access to
and control over basic resources.”
Non-partner sexual violence “refers to violence by a relative, friend, acquaintance, neighbour, work colleague or
stranger”. It includes being forced to perform any unwanted sexual act, sexual harassment and violence perpetrated
against women and girls frequently by an offender known to them, including in public spaces, at school, in the
workplace and in the community.
Essential Services for GBV survivors encompass a core set of services provided by the health care, social service, police,
and justice sectors. The services must, at a minimum, secure the rights, safety and well-being of any woman or girl who
experiences gender-based violence.
60
We will start the discussion now…
A. AVAILABILITY
1. What services are safely available to adult women survivors of GBV in the community/ies? If relevant,
please note the organization offering these services. Check all that apply:
Health Services Social Services
o Identification of survivors of intimate partner o Crisis information
violence o Crisis counselling
o First line support o Help lines
o Care of injuries and urgent medical treatment o Safe accommodations
o Sexual assault examination and care o Material and financial aid
o Mental health assessment and care o Creation, recovery, replacement of identity
o Documentation (medico-legal) documents
o Legal and rights information, advice, and
Justice and Policing representation, including in plural legal
o Initial contact systems
o Assessment/investigation o Psycho-social support and counselling
o Pre-trial processes o Women-centred support
o Trial processes o Children’s services for any child affected by
o Perpetrator accountability and reparations violence
o Post-trial processes o Children’s services for any child affected by
o Safety and protection violence
o Assistance and support o Community information, education, and
o Communication and information community outreach
o Justice sector coordination o Assistance towards economic independence,
recovery, and autonomy
2. What services are safely available to child and adolescent girls GBV survivors? If relevant, please note
the organization offering these services. *Read each type of service to the respondent. Check all that
apply:
o Assistance and support
61
o Communication and information o Community information, education, and
o Justice sector coordination community outreach
o Assistance towards economic independence,
3. What services are safely available to women and girls with disabilities who are GBV survivors? If
relevant, please note the organization offering these services. *Read each type of service to the
respondent. Check all that apply:
o Assistance and support o Community information, education, and
o Communication and information community outreach
o Justice sector coordination o Assistance towards economic independence,
4. Were GBV services affected by the COVID-19 crisis? If so, which ones?
o Yes
o No
5. Even before the COVID-19 crisis, what are some reasons that girl or women survivors of GBV may not
be able to access health/policing and justice /social services mentioned above?
o They do not know where to go o No female staff in facilities
o They are not allowed to go out without o No availability of private and
the husband’s permission confidential support
o Fear of backlash or retribution (either on o Lack of trained staff
herself or her children) o Don’t know
o Distance to facility o Other – please specify:
6. Is there written information on IPV and sexual assault available in healthcare settings e.g., posters,
pamphlets or leaflets made available in private areas such as women’s washrooms?
7. Do women and girls in the whole District, including remote, rural, and isolated areas have access to
comprehensive services without discrimination? If not, in which Upazilas, Unions or Wards are health
and social services for GBV survivors absent? In which are they lacking?
62
8. To what extent are services delivered to reach all populations, including the most excluded, remote,
vulnerable, and marginalized without any form of discrimination regardless of their individual
circumstances or their age, identity, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, and
language preferences? If not, which populations are excluded from GBV services?
9. Do you know of any innovative service delivery models being used in the country to broaden coverage
of service delivery e.g., mobile health clinics, use of modern IT solutions, mobile applications?
B. ACCESSIBILITY
10. Are police, emergency health and social services free of charge? If not, which ones are charged and
for how much?
11. Are the “for fee” services affordable (e.g., medical examinations, psychological support services)? If not,
how much are the main services that you believe are not affordable?
12. Are service delivery procedures and other information about essential services available in multiple
access and meet the needs of different target groups? If not, what are the biggest gaps regarding
accessibility of information on GBV services/
C. ADAPTABILITY
13. To what extent do you think the services respond to the individual circumstances and needs of each
survivor, integrating human rights and culturally sensitive principles?
14. To what extent do you think there is a comprehensive range of services provided to allow women and
girls to have options to services that best meet their individual circumstances?
D. APPROPRIATENESS, PRIORITISES SAFETY, INFORMED CONSENT & CONFIDENTIALITY, EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION & PARTICIPATION BY STAKEHOLDERS
15. Are there GBV focal points in your community?
o Yes
o No
16. To your knowledge, do you believe services are provided with respect to their privacy and by obtaining
informed consent? Please share any information incident or example you know of. (Please do not
share names of persons).
o Yes
o No
17. To your knowledge, do you believe services are provided wherein women and girls are supported to
fully understand their options, and are empowered to feel able to help herself and to ask for help?
Please share any information incident or example you know of. (Please do not share names of
persons).
o Yes
o No
18. To your knowledge, do you believe services are provided wherein women and girls are supported to
fully understand their options, and are empowered to feel able to help herself and to ask for help?
Please share any information incident or example you know of. (Please do not share names of
persons).
o Yes
o No
19. To your knowledge, are there efforts made to reduce secondary victimisation for the survivor; for
example, by minimising the number of times she has to relay her story, reducing the number of people
she must deal with, and ensuring trained personnel are available? (Please do not share names of
persons).
63
o Yes
o No
20. (For members of CBOs or parishad members) Do you work in partnership or coordination with other
government agencies and other local NGOs/CBOs? If so, which organizations?
21. To what extent are safety measures taken to support the safety of women and girls? What are the
biggest gaps?
22. To what extent do women and girls receive a strengths-based, individualized plan that includes
strategies for risk management as part of the GBV services they access?
23. To what extent are service providers non-judgmental, empathetic, and supportive, wherein women
and girls have the opportunity to tell their story/ be listened to?
E. DATA COLLECTION AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
24. To what extent are information relating to women and girls treated confidentially, and stored
securely?
F. LINKING WITH OTHER SECTORS THROUGH REFERRAL AND COORDINATION
25. To your knowledge, are there procedures between services for information sharing and referral
known and followed by agency staff, and communicated clearly to women and girls?
26. To your knowledge, do they refer to child specific services as required?
Difficulties / Challenges
27. What are the significant challenges women in your community’s face in accessing GBV services?
28. Do you know of any women and girls who’ve been turned away because of a lack of available
resources and/or expertise?
o Yes
o No
Assets and Strengths

29. What are strengths and community assets that support the delivery of quality essential services to
GBV survivors in your community?
30. Other Comments:
Optional Questions
Note: These questions can be added if there is no sufficient information on most urgent safety and
protection issues in the communities that can be gathered from secondary data gathering. Understanding
these safety issues can help in assessing whether the GBV services provided meet the actual needs of the
women in the communities, including where women turn to or go for help if they do not reach the health,
social service, and police/justice service points.
1. What are the most significant safety and security concerns facing adult women in this community?
(Check all that apply.)
o Violence from intimate partner o Being asked to marry by their families
o Violence from other family members in the o Trafficking
home o Unable to access services and resources
o Sexual violence/abuse in the home o Don’t Know
o Sexual violence/abuse outside the home o Other – please specify:
o Risk of attack when traveling outside the
community
2. What are the most significant safety and security concerns facing child and adolescent girls in this
community? (Check all that apply.)
64
o Violence from intimate partner o Being asked to marry by their families
o Violence from other family members in the o Trafficking
home o Unable to access services and resources
o No safe place in the community o Don’t Know
o Sexual violence/abuse in the home o Other –please specify:
o Sexual violence/abuse outside the home
o Risk of attack when traveling outside the
community
3. Has there been a noticeable increase in intimate partner violence since the COVID-crisis?
o Yes
o No
4. Has there been a noticeable increase in rape/sexual violence being reported since crisis?
o Yes
o No
5. What types of violence have women reported?
6. What types of violence have adolescent girls reported, if different from above?
7. What types of violence have girl children reported, if different from above?
8. What types of violence have women and girls with disabilities reported, if different from above?
9. What types of violence have members of the LGBT community reported, if different from above?
10. In what context in the community does rape/sexual violence occur? (Select all that apply.)
o At home o At school
o When girls/women are traveling to and from o At work
work/school o When collecting water
o When girls/women are traveling to and from o When going to access services (food aid,
market etc.)
o At latrines/bathing facilities o Don’t Know
o When girls/women are collecting firewood o Other –please specify:
11. To whom do women most often go for help, when they’ve been victims of some form of violence?
o Family member o UN Agency
o Community leader o Friend
o Police o Don’t Know
o NGO o Other –please specify:
12. To whom do child and adolescent girls most often go for help, when they’ve been victims of some
form of violence?
o Family member o Friend /classmate
o Community leader o Teacher
o Police o Don’t Know
o NGO Other –please specify
o UN Agency
13. When a woman or girl is the victim of violence, where does she feel safe and comfortable going to
receive medical treatment?
14. If a woman or girl is raped, where can she get help? What kind of help can she receive? If she visits a
health facility, what services can she receive?
15. Is it common for people in the community to blame women or girls for sexual violence when this
happens? How do people show that they blame the woman?
65
16. Are there women’s groups in the community? Are there women’s centres? Where do women
gather?
17. Where can women seek support if they are facing problems or have faced violence? Are there
women in the community who are good at supporting other women? Leaders?
18. Are there other services or support (counselling, women’s groups, legal aid, etc.) available for
women and girls that are victims of violence?
CONCLUDE THE DISCUSSION

 Thank participants for their time and their contributions.
 Remind participants that the purpose of this discussion was to better understand the services
available to women and girls who have experienced GBV
 Remind participants of their agreement to confidentiality.
 Remind participants not to share information or the names of other participants with others in
the community.
 Ask participants if they have questions.
 If anyone wishes to speak in private, respond that the facilitator will be available after the
discussion.
66
7.3. Assessment and Planning Workshop Guide
This guide is adapted from the Rapid Assessment Tool 4: Barriers to Care Analysis and Planning Tool
(UNICEF, n.d.) and aims to conduct a participatory consultation to analyse the barriers to the quality
essential service provision for GBV survivors.
Target Participants: Representatives from government and NGO GBV service providers, women’s and
children’s networks, survivor support groups, and other organizations and groups that advocate on behalf
of survivors. It is good to have different marginalised groups of women represented (including women
with disabilities, young women, elderly, LBT women, Dalits, etc.).
Workshop Discussion Guides:

A. Barriers to specific services
1. Group participants according to the area of sectoral service expertise. Ask each small group to
discuss the following in their small groups.
2. Identify barriers survivors’ face in accessing a particular service, write the name of the service in
a circle, e.g., health post, police, women’s centre, women’s shelter, child protection network,
etc. and draw a series of concentric circles around it.
Alternative: If the workshop will be conducted for just one essential service the groups can be
assigned according to the specific health service, for example. Another option is they can be groups
based on barriers faced by specific groups, e.g., adult women, married women, unmarried women,
adolescent girls, young children, males, sex workers, etc.
3. Ask participants why survivors don’t use the service and write the answers in the second circle.
(If you put the name of a particular group of survivors in the centre circle, ask participants why
that group doesn’t access services and write the answers in the second circle.) Sample:
Women are
afraid to be
identied
Not allowed
to go w/out Medico- They don't
their Legal for know about
husband's the service
permission SV
They heard
women are
humiliated
67
4. For each factor or barrier identified, continue to ask, ‘why is this so?’ and write the corresponding
answers in the next circle. Continue this process until all of the barriers have been revealed.
5. Write the barriers on a list. Present in plenary and validate with other participants.
B. Developing a plan of action

1. After the plenary, group participants again in the same groups to discuss the following.
2. Go through the list of barriers one by one and have participants discuss and explore potential
strategies and actions for reducing or eliminating each barrier.
3. Ask participants to decide which actions are high priority, who is responsible for them and the
timeframe, e.g., Immediate (in the next 1 to 3 months); Intermediate (in the next 4 to 12 months);
Long-Term (Year 2 onwards)
Sample Template: Action Plan for Addressing Barriers to Quality Essential Services:
Service Barrier Possible actions Who is By when

for reducing the responsible
barrier
Note: Participants may not be able to identify all the solutions for all the barriers. You may need to
consult with others before finalizing the action plan. For example, visiting specific NGOs that work
with women with disabilities, or particular local government institutions, which is a target site for an
upcoming project, etc.
68
Annexes
Annex 1: Language and Terms32
responsibility of the State and its agents. They include
Case finding or clinical enquiry in the context of inti- government supported laws, and institutions such as
mate partner violence refers to the identification of police, prosecution services, courts, and prisons that
women experiencing violence who present to health have the responsibility to enforce and apply the laws of
care settings, through use of questions based on the the State and to administer the sanctions imposed for
presenting conditions, the history and, where violations of laws.
appropriate, examination of the patient. These terms
are used as distinct from “screening” or “routine Gender based violence is “any act of violence that is
enquiry” directed against a woman because she is a woman or
that affects women disproportionately”.
Coordination is a central element of the response to
violence against women and girls. It is required by Governance of coordination has two major
international standards that aim at ensuring that the components. The first component is the creation of laws
response to violence against women and girls is and policies required to implement and support the
comprehensive, multidisciplinary, coordinated, coordination of Essential Services to eliminate or
systematic and sustained. It is a process that is governed respond to violence against women and girls. The
by laws and policies. It involves a collaborative effort by second component is the process of holding
multi-disciplinary teams and personnel and institutions stakeholders accountable for carrying out their
from all relevant sectors to implement laws, policies, obligations in their coordinated response to violence
protocols and agreements and communication and against women and girls and ongoing oversight,
collaboration to prevent and respond to violence against monitoring and evaluation of their coordinated
women and girls. Coordination occurs at the national response. Governance is carried out at both the national
level among ministries that play a role in addressing this and local levels.
violence, at the local level between local-level service
providers, stakeholders and, in some countries, at Health system refers to (i) all activities whose primary
intermediate levels of government between the national purpose is to promote, restore and/or maintain health.
and local levels. Coordination also occurs between the (ii) the people, institutions, and resources, arranged
different levels of government. together in accordance with established policies, to
improve the health of the population they serve.
Core elements are features or components of the
essential services that apply in any context, and ensure Health care provider is an individual or an organization
the effective functioning of the service. that provides health-care services in a systematic way.
An individual health-care provider may be a healthcare
Essential Services encompass a core set of services professional, a community health worker; or any other
provided by the health care, social service, police and person who is trained and knowledgeable in health.
justice sectors. The services must, at a minimum, Organizations include hospitals, clinics, primary care
secure the rights, safety, and well-being of any woman centres and other service delivery points. Primary health
or girl who experiences gender-based violence. care providers are nurses, midwives, doctors, or others.
First-line support When providing first-line support to a Intimate partner violence is “the most common form of
woman who has been subjected to violence, 4 kinds of violence experienced by women globally . . . and includes
needs deserve attention: a range of sexually, psychologically and physically
-Immediate emotional/psychological health needs coercive acts used against adult and adolescent women
-Immediate physical health needs by a current or former intimate partner, without her
-Ongoing safety needs consent. Physical violence involves intentionally using
-Ongoing support and mental health needs physical force, strength or a weapon to harm or injure
the woman. Sexual violence includes abusive sexual
Formal justice systems are justice systems that are the contact, making a woman engage in a sexual act without
her consent, and attempted or completed sex acts with
32
Source: Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence-Module 1 Overview and Introduction
69
a woman who is ill, disabled, under pressure or under criminal and/or civil cases and include providing
the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Psychological supporting documentation for applications
violence includes controlling or isolating the woman and
humiliating or embarrassing her. Economic violence Prevention measures from a justice service provider’s
includes denying a woman access to and control over perspective refer to those activities that are primarily
basic resources.”14 focused on interventions to stop violence and prevent
future violence and to encourage women and girls to
Justice service provider includes State/government report for their own safety.
officials, judges, prosecutors, police, legal aid, court
administrators, lawyers, paralegals, and victim support/ Quality guidelines support the delivery and
social services staff. implementation of the core elements of essential
services to ensure that they are effective, and of
The Justice continuum extends from a victim/survivor’s sufficient quality to address the needs of women and
entry into the system until the matter is concluded. A girls. Quality guidelines provide ‘the how to’ for services
woman’s journey will vary, depending on her needs. She to be delivered within a human rights-based, culturally
may pursue a variety of justice options, ranging from sensitive, and women’s-empowerment approach. They
reporting or making a complaint which initiates a are based on and complement international standards
criminal investigation and prosecution or seeking and reflect recognized best practices in responding to
protection, and/or pursuing civil claims including divorce gender-based violence.
and child custody actions and/or compensation for
personal or other damages, including from State Reparations means to wipe out, as far as possible, all the
administrative schemes, concurrently or over time. consequences of an illegal act and re-establish the
situation which would, in all probability, have existed if
Multi-disciplinary response teams are groups of that act had not been committed. Reparations cover two
stakeholders who have entered into agreements to work aspects: procedural and substantive.9 Procedurally, the
in a coordinated manner to respond to violence against process by which arguable claims of wrongdoing are
women and girls within a community. These teams are heard and decided by competent bodies, whether
focused on ensuring an effective response to individual judicial or administrative need to be women-centred,
cases and may contribute to policy making. available, accessible, and adaptable to the specific needs
and priorities of different women. Procedures need also
Non-partner sexual violence “refers to violence by a to counter the traditionally encountered obstacles to
relative, friend, acquaintance, neighbour, work accessing the institutions that award reparations.
colleague or stranger”.15 It includes being forced to Substantively, remedies consist of the outcomes of the
perform any unwanted sexual act, sexual harassment proceedings and, more broadly, the measures of redress
and violence perpetrated against women and girls granted to victims. This includes reflecting upon
frequently by an offender known to them, including in effective ways to compensate victims for harms
public spaces, at school, in the workplace and in the suffered, including tort law, insurance, trust funds for
community. victims and public compensation schemes and including
non-economic losses which generally affect women
Post-trial processes include corrections as it relates to more negatively than men. There are many forms of
protection of the victim/survivor, minimizing the risk of reparations, including: restitution; compensation; public
re-offending by the offender, and the rehabilitation of acknowledgement of the facts and acceptance of
the offender. It also covers prevention and response responsibility; prosecution of perpetrators; restoration
services for women who are detained in correctional of the dignity of the victim through various efforts; and
facilities, and for women in detention who have suffered guarantees of non-repetition. While the notion of
violence against women. reparation may also include elements of restorative
justice and the need to address the pre-existing
Pre-trial / hearing processes in criminal justice matters inequalities, injustices, prejudices and biases or other
include bail hearings, committal hearings, selection of societal perceptions and practices that enabled violence
charges, decision to prosecute and preparation for against women to occur, there was no agreement as to
criminal trial. In civil and family matters they include how to reflect the structural transformative
interim child custody/support orders, discovery reparations in the essential justice services. Reparations
procedures in civil cases, and preparation for trial or measures should ensure that remedies are holistic and
hearing. In administrative law matters, such as criminal not mutually exclusive.
injuries compensation schemes, it is recognized that this
can be pursued in the absence of or in addition to
70
Restitution is defined as those measures to restore the Secondary victimization refers to behaviours and
victim to her original situation before the violence. attitudes of social service providers that are "victim-
blaming" and insensitive, and which traumatize victims
of violence who are being served by these agencies. It
The social services sector provides a range of support occurs not as a direct result of a criminal act but through
services to improve the general well-being and the inadequate response of institutions and individuals
empowerment to a specific population in society. They to the victim.
may be general in nature or provide more targeted
responses to a specific issue; for example, responding to Sexual violence Any sexual act, attempt to obtain a
women and girls experiencing violence. Social services sexual act, unwanted sexual comments, or advances, or
for women and girls who have experienced violence acts to traffic, or otherwise directed against a person’s
includes services provided by or funded by government sexuality, using coercion, by any person, regardless of
(and therefore known as public services) or provided by their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including,
other civil society and community actors, including non- but not limited to, home and work.
governmental organizations and faith-based
organizations. Social services responding to violence Sexual assault A subcategory of sexual violence, sexual
against women and girls are specifically focused on assault usually includes the use of physical or other force
victims/survivors of violence. They are imperative for to obtain or attempt sexual penetration. It includes rape,
assisting women’s recovery from violence, their defined as the physically forced or otherwise coerced
empowerment and preventing the reoccurrence of penetration of the vulva or anus with a penis, other body
violence and, in some instances, work with particular part, or object, although the legal definition of rape may
parts of society or the community to change the vary and, in some cases, may also include oral
attitudes and perceptions of violence. They include, but penetration
are not limited to, providing psycho-social counselling,
financial support, crisis information, safe Shared decision-making When clinicians and patients
accommodation, legal and advocacy services, housing make decisions together using the best available
and employment support and others, to women and girls evidence. In partnership with their clinicians, patients
who experience violence. are encouraged to consider available options and the
likely benefits and harms of each, to communicate their
Stakeholders are all government and civil society preferences, and help select the course of action that
organizations and agencies that have a role in best fits these.
responding to violence against women and girls at all
levels of government and civil society. Key stakeholders Survivor refers to women and girls who have
include victims and survivors and their representatives, experienced or are experiencing gender-based violence
social services, health care sector, legal aid providers, to reflect both the terminology used in the legal process
police, prosecutors, judges, child protection agencies, and the agency of these women and girls in seeking
and the education sector, among others. essential services.
Screening (universal screening) Large- scale assessment Trial / hearing processes include presentation of
of whole population groups, whereby no selection of evidence and verdict or civil judgment, as well as sub-
population groups is made. mission of evidence to administrative board and the
board’s final decision.
Secondary or Vicarious Trauma
Vicarious trauma: Defined as the transformation of the Violence against women (VAW) means “any act of
health-care provider’s inner experiences because of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result
empathetic and/ or repeated engagement with (sexual) in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to
violence survivors and their trauma material (see http:// women, including threats of such acts, coercion or
www.svri.org/trauma.htm). arbitrary deprivation of liberty,
Annex 2: Consent Forms
71
FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION /KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW
CONSENT FORM
INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE
You are invited to participate in this focus group discussion because you were referred by
_____________________(NGO) as knowledgeable on the topic of our research. Please read the information below
and ask questions about anything you do not understand before deciding whether to participate. If you have any
questions about this project, please contact UN Women/UNFPA/UNICEF Bangladesh Country Office, through
(Contact person and email) ______________________________.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

UN Women Bangladesh is conducting research to assess the services available for the health and well-being of
women and girls who have been subjected to gender-based violence (GBV). Such an assessment can assist in
understanding the national situation of services for GBV survivors, and in identifying specific aspects of service
quality that can be improved or strengthened. By agreeing to contribute to this research, you can help provide
information on strengths, where better services are being provided and factors influencing the quality of essential
services for GBV survivors. Your inputs are very valuable for UN Women, UNFPA and UNICEF to explore how we can
better support government institutions and NGOs to deliver high quality GBV services.
PROCEDURES, PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

If you agree to participate, the FGD will last approximately 90 minutes.
▪ You will be asked to kindly share your honest views; we value all of your inputs, and there are no right or wrong
answers.
▪ We will be documenting and recording this discussion in order to write a research report. Rest assured
that the researcher and the UN offices commit to confidentiality, and we will respect everybody’s privacy. This
means that answers will not be tied to the specific person’s name in the report, and your personal details will
remain private.
▪ You are not required to share personal experiences, but you may do so if you want to. You can also share your
knowledge about the issue, experiences, and observations in your villages / communities.
▪ During the discussion, photographs may be taken for documentation purposes or to include in the report. Your
picture will only be taken with your permission.
RIGHT TO WITHRAW
Participating in this FGD / interview is completely voluntary. You can decide not to answer questions or to leave the
FGD / stop the interview at any time.
CONSENT AND AUTHORIZATION

I have read the information provided in this consent/authorization form. I have been given an opportunity to ask
questions and all of my questions have been answered to my satisfaction. If I have questions later, I understand I
can contact UN WOMEN/UNFPA/UNICEF or _____________________ (NGO).
BY SIGNING THIS FORM, I WILLINGLY AGREE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE STUDY IT DESCRIBES.
________________________________________ ______________________________
Participant Signature over Printed Name Date
B. Parent / Guardian Consent Form
72
Parent / Guardian Consent Form with the Minor’s Assent
(For respondents under 18 years old)
I, Mr. /Mrs. _________________________allow my child/ward_______________________ to attend the UN

WOMEN/UNFPA/UNICEF Focus Group Discussion / Key Informant Interview organized with
______________________(NGO/CBO partner), which will be held on at the office at:
__________________________(address). I understand that this FGD is part of a research that UN Women is
conducting on NGO Projects in Bangladesh.
Signature: Name of parent/guardian: Mobile/ CP #: Date:
I, (Name of minor) give my assent to participate in the abovementioned UN

WOMEN/UNFPA/UNICEF Focus Group Discussion / Key Informant Interview according to the above details.
Signature: Name of respondent (minor): Mobile/ CP #: Date:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annex 3: List of Tables and Figures

Tables
Table 1. Nine (9) Characteristics and guidelines for service delivery across all essential services and actions
Table 2. Essential Health Services, Core Elements and Key Questions
Table 3. Essential Policing and Justice Services, Core Elements and Key Questions
Table 4. Essential Social Services, Core Elements and Key Questions
Table 5. Summary of Data Sets to be gathered in a GBV Service Assessment, Methods and Sources
Figures
Figure 1. Essential Services Package: Overall framework diagram
Figure 2. Policing and Justice services are grouped according to the broad stages of the justice system and services
that must be available throughout the entire justice system.
Figure 3. Common Components of a Coordinated response
73
Bibliography
Christofides, N., Jewkes, R., Lopez, J., & Dartnall, E. (2006). How to conduct a situation analysis of health
services for survivors of sexual assault.pdf.
Ellsberg, M., & Heise, L. (2002). Bearing witness: Ethics in domestic violence research. Lancet, 359(9317),
1599–1604. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08521-5
UN Women, UNFPA, WHO, UNDP, & UNODC. (2015a). Essential services package for women and girls
subject to violence-Module 1 Overview and Introduction.
UN Women, UNFPA, WHO, UNDP, & UNODC. (2015b). Essential services package for women and girls
subject to violence-Module 2 Health Services.
UN Women, UNFPA, WHO, UNDP, & UNODC. (2015c). Essential services package for women and girls
subject to violence-Module 3 Justice and Policing. In Ethics.
UN Women, UNFPA, WHO, UNDP, & UNODC. (2015d). Essential Services Package for Women and Girls
Subject to Violence-Module 4 Social Services.
UN Women, UNFPA, WHO, UNDP, & UNODC. (2015e). Essential Services Package for Women and Girls
Subject to Violence-Module 5 Coordination and Governance of Coordination. Retrieved from
http://www.unwomen.org/-
/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/library/publications/2015/essential-services-package-
module-5-en.pdf?la=en&vs=3759
UN Women, UNFPA, WHO, UNDP, & UNODC. (2015f). Essential Services Package for Women and Girls
Subject to Violence-Module 6 Implementation Guide.
UNFPA, International Medical Corps, Global Protection Center, & Australian Government Aid Program.
(2012). GBV assessment & situation analysis tools. Retrieved from http://gbvaor.net/wp-
content/uploads/2015/02/GBV-Assessment-and-Situation-Analysis-2012.pdf
UNICEF. (n.d.). Gender-Based Violence Assessments in Emergencies Programme Resource Pack.
WHO. (2001). Putting Women First: Ethical and Safety Recommendations for Research on Domestic
Violence Against Women. https://doi.org/10.2307/1289898
WHO. (2013). Responding to intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women. Retrieved from
www.who.int/reproductivehealth
World Health Organization. (2014). Health care for women subjected to intimate partner violence or
sexual violence: A clinical handbook. World Health Organization, WHO/RHR/14, 68. Retrieved from
www.who.int/reproductivehealth
World Health Organization (WHO). (2017). Strengthening health systems to respond to women subjected
to intimate partner violence or sexual violence: A manual for health managers. Retrieved from
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GBV SERVICE ASSESSMENT

Our thanks to:

Giulia Pelosi, UN Women

Content: Katherine Marie Belen, UN Women Consultant / Contact: [email protected]

This GBV Service Assessment Methodology is available in English only.

UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF 2020

3. Standards and Methods in Assessing GBV Essential Services............................................ 9

1.2. Gender Based Violence in Bangladesh

1.3. Purpose and Scope of this Methodology Document

Defining Essential Services

The Essential Services Package comprises six overlapping modules:

Figure 1. Essential Services Package: Overall framework diagram

Key Contents of the GBV Service Assessment Methodology

2. Assessment of GBV Essential Services: Research Objectives and

Main Assessment Questions

3. Standards and Methods in Assessing GBV Essential Services

3.1. Assessing Essential Health Services 3

3.1.2. Methods to gather information to answer the Key Questions

1. Key Informant Interviews

3. Focus group discussions

3.2. Assessing Essential Justice and Policing Services

1. Key Informant Interviews

3. Focus group discussions

5. Assessment and Planning Workshops

3.3. Assessing Essential Social Services

2. Assess current enabling factors:

2.3 Accessibility ▪ Is crisis counselling provided through a range of methods including in

Table 4. Essential Social Services, Core Elements and Key Questions

1. Key Informant Interviews

3. Focus group discussions

5. Assessment and Planning Workshops

3.4. Coordination and Governance of that Coordination

The Figure 4 below shows the common components of a coordinated response:

3.4.1. Standards of Essential Actions for Coordination and governance of coordination

ESSENTIAL ACTION: 2. APPROPRIATION AND ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES

ESSENTIAL ACTION: 3. STANDARD SETTING FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF LOCAL LEVEL COORDINATION

ESSENTIAL ACTION: 4. INCLUSIVE APPROACHES TO COORDINATED RESPONSES

ESSENTIAL ACTION: 5. FACILITATE CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT OF POLICYMAKERS AND OTHER DECISION

ESSENTIAL ACTION: 6. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF COORDINATION AT NATIONAL and LOCAL

Local Level Coordination

ESSENTIAL ACTION: 2. IMPLEMENTATION OF COORDINATION AND GOVERNANCE OF COORDINATION

1. Key Informant Interviews

Here is a quick checklist on how to ensure that services are survivor-/women-centred:

Providers should ensure:

Perpetrator accountability Perpetrator accountability requires essential services, where appropriate, to

5. Fieldworkers should be trained to refer women requesting assistance to available sources of

6. Timeline and Costs

6.1. Eight Steps to undertake GBV Service Assessment 29

Stage 1: Situation and Data Audit Comprehensive Rapid

Stage 2: Analysis and Co-Design

3. Developing and/or Adapting the Tools 1 week

Stage 4: Drafting of GBV Service Assessment Report and

Below is an example of Districts to include, applying the following criteria:

Division No. of Districts District Names

2 National Consultant Days 300 30 9,000.00

Local Transportation of National

Total cost (in USD) excluding VAT 35,000.00

Stage 2: Analysis and Co-Design

2. Developing the Sampling Frame and Deciding Who to

I, Mr. /Mrs. ___allow my child/ward_ to attend the UN