Consultancy — Operational Guidelines on Handling Child Marriage Cases

Terms of Reference (ToRs): Development of Operational Guidelines on Handling Child Marriage Cases.

1. BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT
Child marriage remains a serious human rights concern in Zimbabwe. It is also a criminal offence, yet the practice continues, often sustained by knowledge gaps, weak reporting mechanisms, social norms, and limited accountability. While the scourge of child marriage cannot be eradicated through criminal prosecution alone, an effective response must provide a comprehensive framework for prevention, protection, access to justice and redress, including the appropriate use of criminal sanctions against perpetrators.
Since the express criminalisation of child marriage in Zimbabwe in 2022, however, there appears to have been limited traction in the prosecution of perpetrators. This raises important questions about the extent to which the law is being translated into practice, whether communities and justice-sector actors adequately understand the applicable legal framework, and whether survivors have accessible and effective pathways for reporting, protection and redress.
Although Zimbabwe has advanced constitutional protections and legal reforms, implementation challenges remain. Survivors still face barriers to justice, protection, and comprehensive support. Institutions such as law enforcement and the justice system need stronger capacity and clearer operational guidance to respond effectively to child marriage cases.
Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA) Zimbabwe, with support from Equality Now, is implementing a project to strengthen legal frameworks, institutional responses, and survivor support mechanisms to help end child marriage in Zimbabwe. A key part of this initiative is the development of practical, accessible resources for law enforcement officers, including a factsheet with clear guidance on handling child marriage cases effectively and sensitively.

2. PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
This consultancy seeks to develop comprehensive, practical and user-friendly operational guidelines to support Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers and relevant units in the identification, investigation, response to, and management of child marriage cases. The guidelines will align police practice with Zimbabwe's national legal framework, applicable regional and international human rights standards, and survivor-centred, child-sensitive and trauma-informed principles.

Objectives of the Consultancy
a) To review and synthesise relevant constitutional provisions, legislation, policies, case law, regional and international human rights standards relating to child marriage, and translate them into clear and practical procedures for law enforcement officers.
b) To develop standardised protocols for the identification, reporting, investigation, referral, protection and management of child marriage cases across different levels and units of the Zimbabwe Republic Police.
c) To embed survivor-centred, child-sensitive, gender-responsive and trauma-informed approaches, including principles of confidentiality, privacy, safety, dignity, informed participation and the best interests of the child.
d) To develop practical implementation tools, including checklists, standard operating procedures, referral pathways, decision-making tools and flowcharts to support consistent application of the guidelines.
e) To clarify roles, responsibilities and coordination mechanisms between the ZRP and other relevant actors, including prosecutors, social welfare authorities, health service providers, courts and civil society organisations.
f) To facilitate stakeholder validation of the draft guidelines and ensure that the final guidelines are practical, context-responsive and capable of integration into existing ZRP structures, procedures and training systems.

3. SCOPE OF WORK
i. Research and Analysis
- Review Zimbabwe's legal and policy frameworks related to child marriage, child protection, and law enforcement procedures.
- Examine best practices and operational guidelines from other jurisdictions with similar contexts.
- Identify gaps and challenges faced by police in responding to child marriage cases.
ii. Development of Draft Guidelines — draft comprehensive operational guidelines covering:
- Initial response and case intake procedures.
- Legal considerations, including evidence collection and victim rights.
- Interviewing survivors and witnesses with sensitivity.
- Procedures for referring cases to relevant agencies (child protection services, judicial authorities).
- Handling cases involving minors, including age verification and documentation.
- Coordination mechanisms with civil society, health, and social services.
- Data collection, case documentation, and confidentiality protocols.
- Reporting and follow-up procedures.
- Police officer conduct, gender sensitivity, and survivor-centred approaches.
iii. Consultative Validation
- Facilitate stakeholder validation workshops with ZRP officers, legal experts, child protection specialists, and civil society representatives.
- Collect feedback to refine and adapt the guidelines to operational realities.
iv. Finalization and Packaging
- Incorporate input and prepare the final version of the guidelines in accessible formats.
v. Dissemination and Capacity Support
- Provide recommendations for dissemination within ZRP units.
- Develop a brief user manual or training guide to support capacity-building efforts.

4. DELIVERABLES
a) Inception report with work plan and methodology (within 1 week of contract initiation).
b) Draft operational guidelines for review and feedback (within 3 weeks).
c) Stakeholder validation workshop report and incorporated feedback.
d) Final comprehensive ZRP operational guidelines in both print-ready and electronic formats (within 6 weeks).
e) Supporting materials such as quick-reference charts, checklists, user manual or training guide.

5. DURATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT
The assignment is expected to be completed within 6 weeks from the start date.

6. REPORTING AND COORDINATION
The consultant will report to the WLSA Zimbabwe Programmes Coordinator and collaborate with a technical advisory committee comprising representatives from ZRP, legal experts, child protection specialists, and civil society organisations.