The above official statement on the WBG’s policy regarding Domestic Abuse appeared in the Today section of the Bank’s intranet homepage, on October 6, 2008. 
The Today article recounted the launch on October 1, 2008, of the Domestic Violence Awareness month at the Bank, the IMF and the IADB, at which former US secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, gave the keynote speech.  (see “Every Life Counts!” under Recent Events).  When Managing Director, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, introduced Madeleine Albright to the audience, she took the opportunity to review in detail the World Bank’s policies towards Domestic Abuse and to set future goals to achieve.  Below are excerpts of her remarks.

The World Bank’s Human Resources has allocated about $200,000 per year which is used to finance the following services:

• The HUB: a specialized off-site service for staff and families, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, where people can call for help. The Hub provides limited soft loans for emergencies and legal fees for a Protection Order once the victim has obtained a Temporary Restraining Order.
• Domestic Abuse Prevention Task Force:  an advisory committee composed of representatives of various Bank units, in existence since 2001.
• Domestic Abuse Prevention Coordinator: an HR position established in December 2005 to coordinate all efforts to assist the victims.
• DV LEAP: a program affiliated with George Washington University Law School that provides legal information and safety planning. On board since January 2007, DV LEAP provides a list of expert Domestic Violence attorneys for paid and pro-bono services.
• HR website on Domestic Abuse Prevention: launched in October 2008 and accessible through the World Bank external website, www.worldbank.org: type Domestic Abuse Prevention into the “Search” field.

• Be open in acknowledging the problem of Domestic Violence and Abuse, so that people know they are not alone.
• Strengthen the Bank’s Ethics Code of Behavior and be willing to confront the problem as unacceptable and contrary to Bank ethics. It should be stressed and recognized that:
• This is a Business Issue—Domestic Violence and Abuse is not only a personal issue, it is a business issue. It can mean time lost from work, people terrified and having low morale, embarrassment and inability to perform at work.
• There is a Reputational Risk to the World Bank—There have been cases in which Bank staff have brought their families from another country on a G-4 visa but suddenly deprived them of their G-4 status overnight, either by presenting an invalid document purporting it to be a certification of divorce, or by divorcing the spouse without her knowledge. This is devastating for an unemployed spouse and her children, who find themselves thrown into poverty with no source of income almost immediately. They become a burden on the state and a reputational risk to the Bank.
• Increase education, training and outreach, including mandatory training of managers to help them address this issue.
• Increase transparency, by removing any regulation that allows the blocking of salary and benefit information.
• Impose control on competing divorces, U.S. and foreign, and fully recognize the issues of the G-4 dependent visa. For example, there is a need for health insurance for those residing in the U.S. until local courts rulings on the validity of overseas divorces.  If the divorce is proven to be illegal, steps are needed to make sure that there are consequences to this and that it does not happen again.
• Enroll in the Global Employee Assistance Program to lend support to those impacted by Domestic Violence in WBG Country Offices. The Bank needs to ensure that those in the field also have recourse and that the World Bank stands against such treatment.