World Whistleblowers Day Date in the current year: June 23, 2024

A whistleblower is a person who exposes any kind of information or activity that is deemed illegal, unethical, or not correct within an organization. The information of alleged wrongdoing includes violation of company policy/rules, regulation, law, or threat to public interest or national security, as well as fraud and corruption.

The term “whistleblower” dates back to the 19th century. Back then, policemen who used whistles to alert citizens about a riot were called whistle blowers. The word gained its modern meaning in the 1960s, when journalists began to use it to refer to people who revealed wrongdoing in order to avoid negative connotations associated with words such as “snitch” and “informer”.

Legal protection for whistleblowing varies from country to country, and the society’s stance on whistleblowers and their activity is divisive: some people see whistleblowers as selfless martyrs for public interest, while others view them as traitors who seek glory or personal gain.

Many non-governmental organizations across the world advocate for more comprehensive rights for whistleblowers and stronger whistleblowers protection. These NGOs created World Whistleblowers Day to raise awareness of the importance of these issues.

Along with World Whistleblowers Day observed on June 23, there’s also International Whistleblower Day held in March. It was created in 2017 by the Southeast Europe Coalition on Whistleblower Protection.