Kathryn Bolkovac: Who Is She?

Introduction

Kathryn Bolkovac is a former Lincoln Police Department investigator, consultant, and human rights advocate (Diu, 2012). She is a published author on matters regarding anti-corruption, human trafficking, and ethics as well as an international public speaker. Kathryn is a consultant on whistleblower codes of conduct and protection from persecution. She advocates for government reforms and accountability while pushing for legislative policy (Slanjankic, 2016). Kathryn is also responsible for training and instructing peacekeeping missions in national governments, NGOs, community organizations, and universities. Her efforts are centered on violence against women and prostitution. Extraordinary events during her life led to the adoption of the film, Whistle-blower, which stars Rachel Weisz. Kathryn has been living in the Netherlands with her husband since the human rights debacle.

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What Type of Information He or She Leaked?

Kathryn leaked damaging information regarding the unethical behavior of the American team sent to help with the recovery of Bosnia. She was part of the DynCorp team sent to aid Bosnia, among other American personnel. Kathryn received her initial shock when, during training in Texas, a man openly told them that he knew where to get 12 to 15-year-old girls for sex. While working in Bosnia, she one day decided to investigate the case after receiving a tipoff from a stranded girl. She found foreign passports and American dollars behind a locked door that held seven young girls who were visibly shaken. They were afraid of ending up dead and floating on the river. She kept receiving similar reports of girls who were lured into sexual slavery by the promise of a better life (Diu, 2012). Young girls were brought in from Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, and other countries in Eastern Europe. Kathryn realized that some of the UN and Bosnian police were used to receiving pay-outs from the traffickers in exchange for information. These discoveries were alarming and led to her to blow the whistle on these unethical practices. UN forces were directly responsible prostitution, exploitation, and trafficking of women (Slanjankic, 2016).

How He or She Went About Leaking It?

Kathryn was disappointed by the fact that nobody else seemed to care about the plight of these girls. Most of her team members isolated her as she started digging deeper to find the truth. Her files would go missing, and superiors would pull her cases without an explanation. She could not trust anyone in Bosnia to help with the situation since she could see most of them did not appreciate her efforts to find the truth. She leaked the information by sending an email to 50 senior mission officials detailing the human rights disaster that was taking place (Diu, 2012).

How the Information Hurt or Helped the Public?

The information from the revelation has been of significant help to the public because it has led to changes in structures. Her efforts led to the formation of a disciplinary and conduct by the UN, which can now waive immunity whenever it is needed. The UN leadership dismisses people from the specific missions and leaves the trial and punishment in the hands of the member state. Going back to the home countries for trials forces governments to come down hard on such behavior thus saving other potential victims. Her trial and resulting win led the UN to adopt a zero-tolerance policy for the staff members which will go some way in stopping repeat offenses in future.

The public also benefitted because the case was made into a Hollywood film titled, Whistleblower (Vulliamy, 2012). Her book was made into a movie to increase public sensitization. The film helped to raise awareness about the sexual crimes that took place in Bosnia. Placing this topic in the public discourse helped to call more attention. The public furore sparked by this film forced Ban Ki-Moon to call for a special screening which resulted in a pledge of action.

The revelations exposed the rot and neglect in UN leadership since they did not provide adequate oversight of their mission in Bosnia. The tarnished public image forced the UN to make changes to mitigate such cases in future. The increased public interest helped to make it a hot topic that required a swift solution.

What Consequences Did the Whistleblowers Face?

Whistleblowing is a risky activity on the part of the blower since it could lead to negative consequences. Four days after sending the damaging email to 50 senior mission officers, she was unceremoniously demoted and then later fired by DynCorp, allegedly for her falsified timesheets (Diu, 2012). Luckily, she had kept meticulous records, and she sued the company successfully for unfair dismissal due to conducting her ethical responsibility of whistleblowing. Kathryn also faced stigma from her colleagues while she was investigating the cases in Bosnia. She found herself increasingly isolated from colleagues, and her circle of friends grew smaller than before. She was popular with others at the beginning of the mission, but that changed considerably when she would not drop her incessant inquiries despite receiving subliminal warnings and threats (Vulliamy, 2012). Kathryn now travels around the world talking about the problems encountered by whistleblowers, and the importance of the practice.

References

Diu, N. (2012). What the UN Doesn't Want You to Know. Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2018, from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/9041974/What-the-UN-Doesn't-Want-You-to-Know.html
Vulliamy, E. (2012). Has the UN learned lessons of Bosnian sex slavery revealed in Rachel Weisz film? The Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/15/bosnia-sex-trafficking-whistleblower
Slanjankic, A. (2016). Bolkovac: 'UN tries to cover up peacekeeper sex abuse scandal' | Europe| News and current affairs from around the continent | DW | 29.02.2016. DW.COM. Retrieved 4 March 2018, from http://www.dw.com/en/bolkovac-un-tries-to-cover-up-peacekeeper-sex-abuse-scandal/a-19082815