DRL Addressing Gender Based Violence and Hate Based Crimes in Central Europe

Deadline: 05-Jul-2024

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for projects that increase protections against gender-based violence (GBV) and other types of hate-based crimes in Bulgaria, Czechia, Romania, and Slovakia, including against marginalized communities.

The program should take a broad approach by considering ways in which LGBTQI+ persons, gender-diverse persons, persons with disabilities, Roma persons, and individuals from racial, religious, and ethnic minority communities, and others are further impacted by GBV and hate-based crimes.

All programs should aim to have impact that leads to reforms and have the potential for sustainability beyond DRL resources. DRL’s preference is to avoid duplicating past efforts by supporting new and creative approaches. This does not exclude from consideration projects that improve upon or expand existing successful projects in a new and complementary way.

DRL is committed to advancing equity and support for underserved and underrepresented communities. In accordance with the Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Underserved Communities, programs should implement strategies for integration and inclusion of individuals/organizations/beneficiaries that can bring perspectives based on their religion, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, sex characteristics, national origin, age, genetic information, marital status, parental status, pregnancy, political affiliation, or veteran’s status. Programs should be demand-driven and locally led to the extent possible.

DRL requires all programs to be non-discriminatory and expects implementers to include strategies for non-discrimination of individuals/organizations/beneficiaries based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, marital status, parental status, political affiliation, or veteran’s status.

Program Objectives

• The program objectives are:
  • increasing public awareness of the various forms of GBV (i.e. psychological, physical, emotional, economic, etc.) and hate-based crimes as well as relevant laws and available protections;
  • strengthening collaboration among diverse stakeholders in all communities on rights-based, trauma-informed and survivor-centered approaches to preventing and responding to GBV and hate-based crimes;
  • expanding availability and accessibility of survivor-centered support; and
  • engaging in constructive advocacy to officials to strengthen national policies to be aligned with international best practices and provide support services for GBV and hate-based crime survivors.

Funding Information

• Total Funding Ceiling: $1,470,152 FY23 AEECA
• Total Funding Floor: $1,470,152 FY23 AEECA
• Period of Performance: At least 24 months
• Anticipated Number of Awards: 1
• Anticipated Time to Award, Pending Availability of Funds: 4 months

Where appropriate, competitive proposals may include: 

• Opportunities for beneficiaries to apply their new knowledge and skills in practical efforts;
• Solicitation of feedback and suggestions from beneficiaries when developing activities in order to strengthen the sustainability of programs and participant ownership of project outcomes;
• Input from participants on sustainability plans and systematic review of the plans throughout the life of the project, with adjustments made as necessary;
• Joint identification and definition of key concepts with relevant stakeholders and stakeholder input into project activities;
• Systematic follow-up with beneficiaries at specific intervals after the completion of activities to track how beneficiaries are retaining new knowledge as well as applying their new skills.

Outcomes

• Outcomes can include but are not limited to:
  • Women and girls, LGBTQI+ persons, and gender-diverse persons have improved access to aid and protection from GBV and hate-based crime;
  • Communities coordinate and collaborate on developing and implementing common solutions to GBV and hate-based crime across all identities and divides;
  • Women and girls, gender-diverse persons, and LGBTQI+ persons from marginalized communities know how to distinguish between different forms of GBV and hate-based crime, feel confident to safely engage with local reporting mechanisms to address GBV and hate-based crime, and access justice, health, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS);
  • Direct service providers have increased awareness of the importance of providing non-judgmental, inclusive survivor-centered care, regardless of an individual’s identity;
  • Civil society creatively contributes to shifting gender norms and other forms of GBV and hate-based crime prevention using traditional media, social media, and other methods to reach a broad audience, with a specific focus on men and boys;
  • Civil society improves collaboration and coordination with reporting mechanisms and justice system, healthcare, and social service actors to better protect and respond to GBV and hate-based crime survivors’ short- and long-term needs;
  • Law-enforcement, judicial, and healthcare professionals who interact with survivors of GBV and hate-based crime have increased knowledge and skills in supporting GBV survivors and victims of hate-based crime appropriately, including a survivor-centered, trauma-informed approach.

Program Activities

• Program activities can include but are not limited to:
  • Developing and implementing targeted awareness raising campaigns and community engagement initiatives regarding the different forms of GBV and different types of hate-based crime, highlighting available services along the referral pathway, and educating society about available protections under current laws;
  • Strengthening the financial, technical and/or organizational capacity of local and regional civil society organizations in providing effective and trauma-informed, survivor-centered support services, including, but not limited to, legal, psychosocial, financial, and/or medical assistance;
  • Improving the referral pathway by enhancing coordination among relevant stakeholders, including government officials, law enforcement, healthcare providers, and social services to respond to GBV and other types of hate-based crimes, including training justice system actors on survivor centered engagements during investigative and judicial phases;
  • Implementing country level and regional knowledge exchange hubs with relevant stakeholders to share best practices and lessons learned;
  • Designing and conducting local and national advocacy strategies that strengthen GBV and hate-based crime protections for survivors.
  • Monitoring, documenting, and reporting on GBV and hate-based crime to gather more accurate information and data about GBV and hate based crime incident rates in each country using internationally recognized methodologies.

Competitive proposals will: 

• Incorporate activities that provide communication and training regarding legal, media, mental health and psychosocial support, and urgent assistance to survivors and survivor-led organizations.
• Include significant subawards to local civil society organizations, including organizations led by women and/or individuals from marginalized communities, and have a participatory design process that is inclusive of the local organizations and community needs.
• Integrate a trauma-informed, survivor-centered, do-no-harm approach into the program design and overall implementation. Such an approach will recognize the unique traumas affecting target communities, fully integrate knowledge about the impacts of trauma into policies, procedures, and practices, and seek to actively avoid re-traumatization.

Eligibility Criteria

• DRL welcomes applications from U.S.-based and foreign-based non-profit organizations/nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and public international organizations; private, public, or state institutions of higher education; and for-profit organizations or businesses. DRL’s preference is to work with non-profit entities; however, there may be some occasions when a for-profit entity is best suited.
• Applications submitted by for-profit entities may be subject to additional review following the panel selection process. Additionally, the Department of State prohibits profit to for-profit or commercial organizations under its assistance awards. Profit is defined as any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs. The allowability of costs incurred by commercial organizations is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) at 48 CFR 30, Cost Accounting Standards Administration, and 48 CFR 31 Contract Cost Principles and Procedures.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.