València, June 25, 2020.- Last Tuesday, June 23, the World Alerting People Day – Whistleblowers was celebrated, which aims to recognize the role of all those who report cases of fraud and corruption.

Coinciding with the celebration of that day, the Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency (AVAF) has begun the procedures to propose to the Royal Spanish Academy of the Language the inclusion in the dictionary of the word “retaliatory”, which does not exist at this time.

The dictionary includes the term “retaliation”, used more in the plural, and the complete conjugation of the verb “retaliate”, meaning “punish, retaliate”, but not the word “retaliatory”.

If “retaliated”, which is also found in the dictionary, is the participle of “retaliate”, and therefore the person who receives a response of “punishment or revenge as a result of an attack or offense”, “retaliatory” is that person that performs such action.

The AVAF has among its functions the protection of people who alert, denounce or report acts of fraud or corruption, and finds in the actions it directs to this end that they endure constant acts of intimidation, pressure or punishment in their daily lives such as consequence of the complaint, the alert or the information provided to clarify the facts of an investigation or to prevent corruption.

Whistleblowers or whistleblowers are a key piece in the fight against corruption. However, doing so implies situations of workplace harassment, harassment, financial repercussions, unfair disciplinary proceedings, accusations for crimes not committed and even dismissal.

Said acts of punishment or revenge, retaliation, are carried out by the people to whom the complaint or the information refers, or by people from this environment. They are the retaliators.

In accordance with Law 11/2016, of November 28, of the Generalitat, creating the Agency for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption of the Valencian Community (AVAF), retaliators are punished. Now also in accordance with the European Directive 2019/1937 for the protection of whistleblowers or whistleblowers.

	Editable press note in ODT format
	Editable press note in DOC format