Bangladesh Economic Acceleration and Resilience for NEET (EARN) Project

According to project documents, the Economic Acceleration and Resilience for Not in Education, Employment or Training (EARN) Project is a World Bank-financed initiative implemented by Bangladesh’s Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) to expand education, skills training, and employability opportunities for young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET), particularly girls and young women in rural areas. 

EARN will be implemented across 250 Upazilas (sub-districts) and includes support for children and youth who have dropped out of school to complete secondary education, vocational training, entrepreneurship financing, modernization of youth training centers, and community childcare services to facilitate the participation of young mothers. 

Project documents identify substantial risks related to the sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment (SEA/H) of beneficiaries by project personnel. Planned mitigation measures include an SEA/H Action Plan, Codes of Conduct, SEA/H-responsive grievance mechanisms, stakeholder capacity-building, and SEA/H requirements in procurement processes. 

In May 2025, Bank Information Center (BIC) partnered with Breaking the Silence (BTS), a Bangladeshi organization with extensive experience in child protection, to monitor the project and provide technical recommendations to strengthen child SEA/H risk mitigation. Because EARN remained in the early stages of implementation during our project monitoring, engagement focused on strengthening child protection systems before activities reached full scale.  

During discussions with BTS, the World Bank recognized that EARN’s national scope and emphasis on changing social norms create SEA/H risks that require collaboration beyond project systems alone. The Bank’s Task Team Leader (TTL) conveyed this perspective to the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), which viewed civil society participation as technical expertise that could strengthen implementation. 

As a result, the World Bank and the PIU welcomed recommendations related to procurement and confirmed that internal procurement documents were revised to strengthen references to child SEA/H. They also committed to developing a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan to assess how SEA/H measures are implemented throughout the project cycle.  

Given EARN’s geographic reach and work with marginalized populations in rural and hard-to-reach areas, monitoring should assess not only whether safeguarding measures have been established, but also whether they are functioning effectively in practice. Facility Safety Audits can identify environmental risks such as inadequate lighting, isolated locations, limited supervision, or insufficient private space for reporting before they contribute to incidents.  To support these improvements, EARN should allocate dedicated budget lines for child safeguarding infrastructure, including lighting, locks, and private consultation spaces.

Participatory risk mapping exercises, in which participants map their training centers and commuting routes, can help identify concerns that formal inspections may overlook. Participants may highlight poorly lit roads, isolated areas, unsafe transportation routes, or late-evening activities that may require additional mitigation measures.

Periodic monitoring visits should incorporate short “Pulse Questions” to assess whether participants understand zero-tolerance principles, know how to report concerns, and can identify available support services. Monitoring should also capture participants’ perceptions of safety, confidence in reporting systems, and trust that concerns will be addressed appropriately. Collecting this information over time can help the PIU identify implementation gaps, adapt safeguarding measures where needed, and strengthen the project’s overall child protection systems. 

Our recommendations focus on:

1) SEA/H in procurement

• EARN will hire a Social Norms Specialized Agency (SNSA) to design and implement the project’s SEA/H prevention and response activities. Because the SNSA will play a central role in shaping safeguarding measures throughout implementation, the procurement process provides an important opportunity to strengthen child protection before project activities begin.
• The Request for Proposals should award technical evaluation points to bidders with demonstrated experience in child protection and SEA/H prevention. It should also require dedicated budget allocations for child protection and SEA/H training,  child-friendly reporting materials, and place greater weight on social norms and behavior change expertise in the Quality and Cost-Based Selection Criteria. Integrating these requirements into procurement helps make safeguarding capacity a core implementation requirement from the outset.

2) SEA/H and the Grievance Redress Mechanism 

• EARN will establish an SEA/H GRM at youth-level training centers. For the mechanism to function effectively, participants need to understand the standards of conduct expected of project personnel, where concerns can be reported, and what support services are available if harm occurs. Information about the GRM should be communicated throughout the project cycle using youth-friendly materials and local languages. Posters displayed in prominent locations, like high-traffic areas, should explain Codes of Conduct and reporting procedures, while wallet-sized “safety cards” can provide hotline numbers and reporting information that participants can easily retain
• The GRM should incorporate multiple reporting channels so community members can choose the option they are most comfortable using. In addition to grievance boxes, each training center should designate an independent female focal point who operates separately from trainers and center managers. Additionally, confidentiality should be reflected in both the design and management of reporting systems. Grievance boxes should remain locked, positioned away from trainer workspaces, and managed through clear protocols that designate responsibility for collecting and handling complaints while protecting survivors’ identities.
• Girls-only discussion spaces facilitated by female focal points can provide an additional opportunity for girls, in particular, to raise concerns, identify emerging risks, and disclose incidents that may not otherwise be reported through formal channels.

3) SEA/H Awareness 

• Because EARN works with out-of-school youth with varying literacy levels, awareness activities should rely on youth-friendly communication approaches and local languages. Participants should understand their rights, the project’s zero-tolerance approach to SEA/H, available reporting options, and the support services that can be accessed if concerns arise. Displaying Codes of Conduct and zero-tolerance messaging throughout training facilities reinforces expectations for appropriate behavior while keeping child protection visible in day-to-day project activities. 
• Awareness efforts should also extend beyond training centers through community theater, WhatsApp groups, Facebook, and other locally relevant communication platforms. These approaches can reinforce project messages while reaching parents, caregivers, and other community members who influence participants’ safety and well-being.   
• Existing community structures, including Child Protection Committees and Youth Clubs, can further strengthen outreach and referral efforts. Because these groups often have established relationships within communities, they can reinforce safeguarding messages, encourage reporting, and help connect participants with available services.

4) Staff training 

• All instructors and project personnel who interact with participants should receive training on child protection, SEA/H prevention, and expected standards of conduct before beginning work.  
• To support consistent implementation, EARN should require all personnel to complete a basic safeguarding orientation within 24 to 72 hours of joining the project, followed by comprehensive training during their first month of work, and periodic refresher sessions thereafter. Maintaining signed SEA/H declarations in personnel files can help document staff understanding of their child protection responsibilities and reporting obligations. 
• While preventing incidents remains the priority, staff must also be prepared to respond appropriately when disclosures occur. Because the first 24 to 48 hours following an incident are critical to a survivor’s well-being, all frontline personnel should receive mandatory Psychological First Aid training to provide immediate, survivor-centered support and facilitate timely referrals. 

5) Case referral and investigation 

• Referral pathways should be established before incidents occur so survivors can access support without unnecessary delays. Every training center should maintain an up-to-date Service Map identifying local One-Stop Crisis Centers (OCC) that provide medical care, legal assistance, psychosocial counseling, and police services. In rural areas, where specialized services are limited, referral pathways should incorporate Upazila Health Complexes and qualified civil society organizations that can help address gaps in service availability. 
• The PIU should require referral institutions to be briefed on EARN’s referral procedures so partners understand their roles and can respond quickly when cases arise. Training center managers should know where the nearest GBV service provider is and how to contact it. Referral pathways should be publicly displayed where participants can easily access it. 
• When incidents involve children, referral procedures should place their best interests at the center of decision-making. Community-Based Child Protection Committees with trained social workers can play an important role in conducting Child Best Interest Assessments and supporting survivor-centered responses.