3.2.1 Internal and External Whistleblowing
A basic distinction is made between internal and external reporting channels. Internal whistleblowing occurs within the organization; for this purpose, internal reporting channels or reporting channels at, for example, ombudspersons or law firms that are mandated by the organization may be used. External whistleblowing, by contrast, occurs with independent supervisory bodies or associations that provide external reporting channels. A special form of external whistleblowing is public disclosure, in which information is released directly to the public – for example through investigative journalism or digital platforms.
Qualitative interviews show that whistleblowers, in the overwhelming majority of cases, seek to report internally and attempt to do so in the first instance – often repeatedly and over extended periods of time. This finding applies to at least 80% of cases.[1] In this process, whistleblowers frequently pass through what Herold (2016; 2022) describes as an “escalation spiral”.[2] This leads from internal to external whistleblowing and, in extreme cases, to public disclosure.[3]
Bernd G. Lottermoser /
Matthias Schmidt (Ed.)
with contributions of
Anna S. Hüncke, Nina Küpper and Sören E. Schuster
Publisher: UVG-Verlag
Year of first publication: 2024 (Work In Progress)
ISBN: 978-3-948709-26-6
Licence: Ethics in Mining Copyright © 2024 by Bernd G. Lottermoser/Matthias Schmidt is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Deed, except where otherwise noted.
Further Informationen:
Project "Ethics in Mining"