The Whistleblowing Guide

CHAPTER 2Why Speak‐up Systems: Why Now?

INTRODUCTION

Speak‐up arrangements is the term currently used for internal whistleblowing procedures. The phrase represents an attempt to avoid the negative connotations of the term ‘whistleblowing’ as denoting a squealer or snitch.¹ Whistleblowing is ‘the disclosure by organization members (former or current) of illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices under the control of their employers, to persons or organizations that may be able to effect action’.² Whistleblowing as a term has been in use since the 1970s, and it has been the subject of much research. Topics range from whether instances of whistleblowing can be accurately predicted in a given organizational setting,³ to legal frameworks protecting whistleblowers' rights and the impacts of retaliation by organizations on those who speak up.

This book focuses on how best to facilitate whistleblowing within organizations in a safe and effective manner, such that first, the wrongdoing that has been identified can be rectified and second, and equally important, the person raising the alarm can be protected. This is an area of growing concern both in academic literature⁴ and in professional practice. Encouraging people to speak up about perceived wrongdoing is not easy, particularly in organizational cultures in which silence is the norm, and where there is little support available for speaking out.⁵ Given the importance of whistleblowers for society and for organizations as described ...