Midterm Review of the DFAT Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW)

Unclassified

Midterm Review of the DFAT Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW)

Program in Afghanistan

DFAT MANAGEMENT RESPONSE

Initiative Summary

Initiative Name / Ending Violence Against Women Program
AidWorks initiative number / INK880
Commencement date / 13 December 2012 / Completion date / 30 December 2017
Total Australian $ / A$24.7 million
Total other $ / A$5.5 million (The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development co-finances the Asia Foundation component of the initiative under a delegated cooperation arrangement)
Implementing partner(s) /

• United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
• United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
• The Asia Foundation (TAF)
• Afghan Women's Network (AWN)
• Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC)

Country/Region / Afghanistan
Primary sector / Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW)
Initiative objective/s / The initiative supports national efforts to reduce violence against women (VAW) throughthree main objectives:

• Women affected by violence have increased access to better services in target areas
• Women affected by violence have increased access to justice in target provinces, through both formal and community-based justice mechanisms
• Improved violence prevention practices, including more effective community awareness and advocacy and engagement of women in peace processes.

Evaluation Summary

Evaluation Objective:

Policy objectives of the independent Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the EVAW Programwere twofold:

1. Verify and assess progress to date and make recommendations for any modifications required over the remaining program duration to maximise results; and
2. Identify opportunities for future policy and program support in the EVAW sector in Afghanistan.

Evaluation Completion Date: 7 March 2016

Evaluation Team: Marie Huber (Team Leader) and Nabila Musleh (National EVAW Expert).

Summary of key findings

• The MTR found the EVAW Program to be highly effective and making progress towards its objectives and goal of a sustained reduction in VAW. Across all three outcomes, the MTR found activities had been effective.Overall, the Program’s activities were found to constitute a holistic approach to preventing, combatting and facilitating access to response services regarding VAW. Also, the Theory of Change was found to be generally robust and underlying assumptions were largely validated by the review.
• The MTR found the program is generally aligned with Afghan Government frameworks, objectives and prioritiesand government partners are largely supportive of program activities. Partners also work closely with the Government, including signing a series of MoUs with government counterparts that support project activities.
• The MTR made recommendations to improve service gaps for VAW survivors,risk management processes, monitoring and evaluation and supporting partner capacity development.

DFAT’s response to the evaluation report

• The MTR report was managed and guided by DFAT’s Afghanistan program in Kabul and Canberra, in consultation with UN Women, TAF, UNFPA, AWN, AIHRC and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).Adam Smith International provided logistical support.
• DFAT considers the MTR report to be of high quality. It has addressed the Terms of Reference thoroughly. Thereport is also consistent with the Evaluation Plans and Evaluation Tools documents, which were prepared by the MTR team in consultation with DFAT’s Afghanistan program, DFAT’s Office of Development Effectiveness andDFID.
• DFAT will take the MTR recommendations into consideration in implementing current EVAW Program activities and designing the next phase of activities. DFAT held an internal peer review with the MTR Team Leader on 26 February 2016 to discuss the MTR findings and draw broader lessons for DFAT’s work in Afghanistan, regionally and globally.
• DFAT has discussed the MTR recommendations with UN Women, TAF, UNFPA, AWN, AIHRC and DFID and sought EVAW Program partners’ feedback on proposed actions in this management response.
• DFAT’s response to each MTR recommendation is laid out in the attached table.

DFAT Management Response –Afghanistan EVAW Program Mid-Term Reviewpage 1 of 6

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DFAT’s response to the specific recommendations made in the report

Recommendation

/ Response / Actions / Responsibility
Effectiveness

1. Assess the options and resources required to facilitate programming in more remote districts.

/ Agree. / DFAT will work with EVAW Partners to determine whether there are realistic options for expanding coverage of programming to more remote areas, taking into account for security and access issues, and noting that they already operate in some remote areas. / DFAT and EVAW Program Partners

1. Undertake a thorough assessment of service gaps for survivors and coordinate with other donors.

/ Partially agree.DFAT will not undertake a new assessment of service gaps as existing assessments remain valid, but will coordinate with other donors to better address service gaps and ensure complementary programming. / DFAT will work with UN Women to include discussion of service gaps at the UN Women Special Fund and Gender Donor Working Group meetings, as appropriate. / DFAT and UN Women

1. Clarify key concepts and agree on terminology and use of language throughout program activities.

/ Agree. / DFAT will prepare a list of key concepts and terminology and seek agreement from partnersand
MoWA endorsement of this list. / DFAT

1. Undertake an assessment of service bottlenecks for services to VAW survivors.

/ Agree, noting actions already underway. / UN Womenand UNFPA are already undertaking actions to assess service bottlenecks. / DFAT with UN Women andUNFPA

1. Incorporate a psychosocial support training component into UN Women capacity support to WPCimplementing local partners, and look at options for utilizing civil society organizations providingpsychosocial services

/ Agree, noting actions already underway. / UN Women is already planning to develop and implement a psychosocial support training component in collaboration with key partners. DFAT is supportive of this approach. / DFAT and UN Women

1. Involve Police Academy trainers at provincial level in addition to MoI trainers.

/ Agree. / UNFPA agrees with this recommendation and plans to implement it. / DFAT and UNFPA

1. Establish and support a mechanism for women and girls trained through the Young Women LeadersProgram (YWLP) to facilitate their access to positions in relevant government institutions.

/ Agree. / AWN is engaged in ongoing discussions with the government institutions regarding the employment of the YWLP participants. / DFAT and AWN

1. Require a case review mechanism in program components that work with traditional dispute resolution(TDR) bodies for case resolution.

/ Agree. / DFAT will request EVAW Program partners to explore potential for ad hoc cooperation between TDR bodies engaged through the program and formal justice and police institutions. / DFAT and EVAW Program Partners

1. Undertake a thorough assessment of case handling by community-based bodies such as Community Dialogue Groups (CDG) andFamily Resolution Committees (FRCs), which are currently making a low number of referrals.

/ Partially agree.DFAT will not request a further assessment of case handling by CDGs and FRCs as it considers actions underway already meet this recommendation. These actions include TAF’s implementing partners working with the CDGs and FRCs to increase the number of referrals made at the district or provincial levels and follow-up referrals.

1. Improve coordination and support to local partners, particularly in facilitating effective coordination with provincial stakeholders and government institutions.

/ Agree. / DFAT will work with partner organisations to identify options to improve coordination across stakeholders, taking into account for security limitations. / DFAT and EVAW partners
Sustainability

1. Identify and assess options for building linkages between program activities and efforts to build the government’s capacity to undertake gender-responsive programming, and promote further progress towards on-budget solutions within the EVAW sector.

/ Disagree.While DFAT recognises the importance of supporting gender responsive budgeting reform, this would fall outside the scope of the EVAW Program.

1. Identify and support the utilization of activities that help to promote sustainable access to resources andmaterials provided through the program.

/ Agree. / DFAT will continue to promote sustainability in all program activities and will remain flexible to EVAW Program Partners’ requests to amend activities to improve sustainable access to resources and materials. / DFATand EVAW Program Partners
Monitoring and Evaluation

1. Revise the PAF with the participation of all program implementing partners, with particular emphasis on refining the intermediate outcomes and indicators, and develop a data collection plan.

/ Agree. / The EVAW program’s Performance Assessment framework will be revised to coincide with commencement of the next phase of the program. / DFAT and EVAW Program Partners
Efficiency

1. Develop a formal security incident reporting mechanism, and protocols for the steps that should be takenwhen a participant or staff member is under threat.

/ Agree. / DFAT will work with the EVAW Program Partners to develop a security incident reporting form. / DFAT and EVAW Program Partners

1. One Core Steering Group (CSG) meeting each year should be dedicated to reviewing the PAF, and each partner reporting ontheir progress on each indicator and utilizing the forum to reflect on progress at a programmatic andoutcome level.

/ Agree. / DFAT will ensure that one CSG meeting each year includes an agenda item dedicated to reviewing the PAF with discussions on program progress. / DFAT and EVAW Program Partners

1. Rather than incorporating local partners into the CSG, an annual mechanism that facilitates directinteraction of local partners with DFAT should be established.

/ Agree. / DFAT will seek to host one annual workshop with EVAW partners and implementing partners in Kabul. / DFAT

1. Develop a ToR for the CSG and assign responsibilities to members in developing agendas and proactivelyengaging in providing input on meeting content.

/ Agree. / DFAT will lead development of formal TORs for the CSG, for discussion with EVAW Program Partners. / DFAT and EVAW Program Partners

1. DFAT to take a role in developing an effective platform for donor coordination specifically in relation to the EVAW sector.

/ Disagree.DFAT will not establish a separate platform for donor coordination specifically in relation to the EVAW sector asDFAT is actively involved in broader gender coordination efforts across donors and raises issues around EVAW regularly in these fora.

1. Improve coordination with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

/ Agree. / DFAT will seek an introductory meeting with the MoJ to discuss the EVAW program and look for opportunities to increase engagement with partners. / DFAT

DFAT Management Response –Afghanistan EVAW Program Mid-Term Reviewpage 1 of 6

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