World Bank’s strategy on gender-based violence must include NGOs

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The writer is co-founder of Transparency International and adjunct professor at Georgetown University

The World Bank’s president, Ajay Banga, states the case bluntly: “Globally, women have not seen their participation in the labour force improve since 1990. And when they do get a seat at the table they aren’t paid equally. We cannot defeat poverty with half the world’s population on the sideline.”

The bank is now finalising a 2024-30 gender development strategy. It states in a recent draft: “The first strategic objective includes eliminating all forms of gender-based violence [GBV] and building and protecting human capital. It claims, “A third of World Bank operations now incorporate such [anti-GBV] activities.”

This will put the bank in the mainstream of global actions that are reaching ever more deeply into public policy, business and the arts. It could become the leading promoter of anti-GBV projects across the developing world, but does it have the necessary approaches in place to succeed?

Curbing GBV is the most challenging area in the gender development landscape. Data is sparse as women in many countries dare not report crimes to the authorities. Reducing violence demands sustained community-level efforts, the building of local networks to support women, the constant challenging of patriarchal institutions and an acute awareness of how pervasive corruption in relation to women is.

Women are often victims of extortion when they seek access to education, healthcare and social services. Sometimes this takes the form of bribes. But if they can’t pay those, then they can be coerced into providing sex — also known as sextortion — be it to secure their property rights, obtain business licences, gain promotion at work or even better marks in school.

Yet, it is precisely the ministries responsible for areas such as education or health that are the bank’s prime partners in projects designed to improve opportunities for women. The bank’s charter says it can only lend to governments and their agencies, although it stated in a review of its past anti-GBV operations that: “Locally, non-governmental organisations have helped the World Bank deliver last-mile interventions and supported implementation.”

The new strategy should include far broader roles for NGOs. The bank manages large trust funds from bilateral donor agencies that it could use to fund partnerships with such organisations. Their local knowledge is vital in the basic design of projects, and in establishing and sustaining support networks of the kind that are being developed today in parts of India and Nigeria. They can also monitor public policy.

Working with local NGOs is the key to giving voice to victims of GBV and shining a light on corruption. A survey of victims in education in Madagascar found widespread cases starting at high school level. Surveys by Transparency International in Latin America and in the Middle East found that one in five women said they were either victims of sextortion or knew someone who was.

Corruption and GBV are twins in many areas. Men charged with GBV often pay bribes to have their cases dismissed. The bank’s aim to strengthen justice systems to support victims is a long-term endeavour and one that needs support on the ground to ensure cultural change.

In his first annual meeting speech, Banga did not mention NGOs or corruption as he talked about the vital roles of women in development. Nor are corruption or sextortion mentioned in the bank’s review of its GBV work over the past decade, nor in its draft gender strategy. The bank needs to foreground these issues, and launch training programmes for its executives. A successful World Bank gender strategy is vital for economic development and, above all, for the basic social and legal rights of women. To ensure success, it must work with organisations that can help.