Are whistle blowers always anonymous or protected? This is one question I kept asking myself when I saw this prompt. To w#0 %histle blow simply refers to reporting a crime or injustice that you have witnessed within,$ an organization and still stay anonymous, or so we thought.
The truth is.... that in most cases, whistle blowers do not always stay anonymous for a long period of time, because some whistle blowing channels or procedures exposes their identity eventually.
From my experience and observations, I perceive that most whistle blowers are internally seen as traitors or betrayers even when the public celebrates them, because they break collegial bonds, violate oaths they once believed in and cause collateral damages to colleagues or bosses they once looked up to.
It is true that a simple whistle blowing event can save a company from deep corruption and money laundry scandals, but in my opinion whistle blowing should only be considered in cases of serious misconduct because this process can destroy careers, relationships, and financial stabilities.
I believe it would be better to opt for whistle blowing in situations that really requires it. It is advisable to whistle blow when public safety is at stake and all internal channels have failed or are compromised. It is not betrayal rather it should be regarded as your service to protect humanity.
For instance you are in a Pharmaceutical company that pushes and recommend drugs that are not approved by the Food and Drugs Agencies or manufacturers selling counterfeit or faulty equipment causing harm and danger to alot of people in society.
In systemic cases like this where a group of people are causing harm to society, it is always best to whistle blow. But they big question remains; how safe and secure are whistle blowers?
I recently participated in an Anti-Corruption Hackathon where I emerged as the top 5 in the country. I built a system that included a whistle blowing feature. What made this feature very unique is that even the Admin would not be able to know who the whistle blower is.
Every whistle blower would get a unique tracking code and that's all that is required to check your report status, and that's also what the Admin would see, no confidential information needed.
From the image above, you can see that I tested the system by sending a report to the company about what my colleague (@Mikechrist) plans to do with the company's donation. The company gets the message and evidences about the report but they would never know it was me that sent it because I look innocent.
This in my opinion is the best protective measure for whistle blowers in an organization. To also ensure that reports are genuine, it is always important to focus on documentary proof to prevent malicious falsehoods or competitive sabotage disguised as public interest, and our Anonymous Whistleblower portal also supports that.
The truth is that whether anonymous or not, you are most likely to be called a betrayer by the people you worked beside and trusted, while being called a hero by strangers who benefit from your disclosure. If a whistleblowing situation ever arises, and the potential damages are high, It is better to report regardless of what anyone thinks.
All Images are screenshots from my Web Application.
