According to the evaluation of psychosocial support for whistleblowers, such support is rarely utilized, but it does help whistleblowers persevere through the process.
The program offering free psychosocial support has been in place slightly longer than the program for free legal aid and mediation—namely, since 2022. The KWINK Group also recently evaluated this program; see also our article on the evaluation of free legal aid for whistleblowers.
Evaluation
Psychosocial support is available to whistleblowers following a referral from the Advisory Department of the House for Whistleblowers (House), and here, too, the goal is to lower the barrier to filing a report. In addition, it is intended to prevent or de-escalate conflicts in the workplace. Victim Support Netherlands has been designated to administer the program. Use of the program has been limited; from September 1, 2022, through December 1, 2025, it was utilized by 34 individuals. The program is often unknown and difficult to find. Access to the program depends on a referral from the Huis’s counselor. Due to the small number of participants, the intended peer-to-peer support has not materialized, even though some participants indicated that they did have a need for it.
Victim Support Netherlands has also conducted an internal evaluation of the program and recommended that the service not be continued in the same manner. This is because the program is limited to emotional support, whereas Victim Support normally takes a comprehensive approach to a case, addressing emotional, legal, and practical aspects. In addition, the low caseload makes it difficult to build expertise in whistleblower cases. At the time of the investigation, Victim Support had not yet made a decision regarding the program’s continuation.
The KWINK researchers note that those who file reports do appreciate the service. It helps them cope with stress and uncertainty, organize their thoughts, and persevere through the reporting process. On the other hand, a large proportion of those who filed reports did need more intensive or specialized help, while the service is designed solely to provide accessible psychosocial support. Reporters only realize later that they are not being referred to a psychologist, but to a psychosocial support worker. This, incidentally, surprised us as well; we, too, had assumed that more professional, specialized help would be available.
It is currently unclear whether the provision lowers the threshold for reporting. In any case, the program does not directly contribute to de-escalating conflicts; in many cases, tensions and conflicts have already escalated by the time reporters contact the House and subsequently Victim Assistance. However, it does help reporters to better persevere through the reporting process. After all, it is well known that the reporting process is, in many cases, psychologically very stressful.
Despite the advice from Victim Assistance to phase out its services carefully and systematically, the Ministry of the Interior has asked the organization to extend the program for another year, until September 1, 2027.
Recommendations
Based on the above, the researchers have made the following key recommendations:
- Ensure that those who report incidents continue to have easy access to psychosocial support and specialized psychological assistance in the future—again, without long wait times—and make it clear to them what types of support are and are not covered by the program.
- Rewrite the facility’s objectives so that they better reflect its actual function and added value. For example: ensure that the reporting process is emotionally and psychosocially manageable.
- Increase awareness of the program and make it easier to find.
The fact that whistleblowers can seek psychosocial support is covered in our course “The Whistleblower Protection Act in Practice.” It is one of the 17 changes resulting from the EU directive. You can register for the course and find more information about it by clicking the link.
