Insights of the World Bank Inspection Panel: Responding to Project Gender-Based Violence Complaints Through an Independent Accountability Mechanism

The World Bank Inspection Panel is an independent complaints mechanism for people who believe they have been or will be adversely affected by the World Bank not complying with its operational environmental and social safeguard policies in projects that it funds. The Panel's process seeks redress for affected communities. It investigates the Bank, not its member or borrower countries. Although the Bank has a 2003 operational directive that seeks to narrow gender gaps and a gender strategy that sets targets, assesses progress toward gender equality, and incorporates gender dimensions into its operations, the directive does not explicitly target harm3 such as gender-based violence (GBV). However, under the Directive for Addressing Risks and Impact on Vulnerable and Disadvantaged Groups pursuant to the 2018 Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) the Bank now has additional coverage, including a requirement that staff conduct due diligence on the risks to individuals and groups who might be adversely affected or excluded from project benefits due to gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. This report is the sixth in the Panel's Emerging Lessons Series. It draws on the main lessons of two groundbreaking investigations in which Bank operations faced allegations of inadequate social risk assessment, management, and supervision that contributed to project-related GBV and harm in two transport projects. The insights provided here explain how these investigations inspired institutional transformation of the Bank's approach to GBV and the importance of Independent Accountability Mechanisms (IAMs) such as the Panel for responding to claims of project-related GBV