Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response in World Bank Operations

Gender-based violence (GBV) represents a critical barrier to development globally. As the most extreme manifestation of gender inequality and the most prevalent form of violence worldwide, its impacts extend far beyond individual survivors, with implications for the productivity and well-being of families and communities, often across generations. This report reviews progress on GBV prevention and response in World Bank lending operations over the past decade finding that the institution offers unique entry points across all sectors in which it works to expand work on GBV. Critical investments in staff’s technical capacity, purposeful high quality analytical work to inform project design and implementation, and partnerships at the global, national, and local levels have driven the exponential progress on this agenda. Drawing on the lessons learned from a comprehensive review of the portfolio, interviews with staff and consultations with practitioners, donors and researchers in this area of work, the report lays out a guiding vision for deepening the work on GBV prevention and response in the decade ahead.