Family Tree

The premise of a whistleblower goes back almost as far as human history does. Humans are notorious for having a drive to obtain power, abuse it, and be overthrown. As long as people and systems have been abusing their power, whistleblowers have been around. In our project, we examine whistleblowers starting from the pre-1980s to present. Of course, it would take a lot of time to go over every single whistleblower so we just have some noteworthy ones.

According to whistleblowersnational.com, one of the first times the act of whistleblowing had been addressed is through a qui tam in medieval England. In 695, King Wihtred of Kent declared that qui tam should be legal under his rule. Qui tam derives from the Latin phrase, “*he who prosecutes for himself as well as for the King*.” This relates specifically to a person prosecuting companies for the good of the country. Depending on who a person is reporting on, the act can seem patriotic or like an act of treason. After all, people make complaints and obtain the bravery to speak up about injustices for a few different reasons. Some people do it when the situation directly benefits them, while others do it because the situation puts many citizens at risk of something. Others do it because whatever is happening violates their personal moral codes.

Looking at the research that our group has conducted, whistleblowers from the pre-1980s seem to report mostly on cases of espionage, or crimes related to war. We see a lot of misconduct with the Revolutionary War, World War I, and World War II. Alongside that, though, people have been whistleblowing on private companies for personal gain. Moving into the 1980s-2000, a majority of the cases reported have to do with nuclear power/warfare (especially through the Cold War), as well as concerns with health-related issues. The 2000s-present highlight people reporting unconstitutional espionage, humans rights issues (sex trafficking), and misuse of power from public officials. Comparing instances of whistleblowers throughout history, it looks as though things started off with reporting on issues with war, evolved into complaints on issues with nuclear plants (as a result of fear from previous wars), and then becomes reporting on issues of social justice and the rights of citizens' privacy. Who these whistleblowers are throughout the ages also transforms with time. Starting off, mostly white men would step up to blow the whistle. As time passed, increasingly we see women and other minority figures speak up. This is very similar to most other human rights/social justice issues. People with privilege don't like to give their privilege up, but it is much easier for a white male to report on something going on than it is for a woman, person of color, non-binary person, or other minority figure. If the white man who is reporting an issue ends up losing a job, being questioned, or has another form of consequence, it is relatively easy to bounce back from. If anyone else reported an issue, it is not as easy to do. That person would be more likely to be harassed, dismissed, and accused of lying. I believe that is why it took so long to see a more diverse group of whistleblowers. This is not to say that it is easy, or that it has ever been easy to muster up the bravery and courage to tell the truth. Simply, as society engages in a cultural shift regarding the equal rights of minorities, it is allowing of more folks to blow the whistle.