| Hi there, Too often, ordinary citizens stand on the front lines against corruption. From facing bribes to access basic services like medical treatment or filing a police complaint, it is always those who are least able to pay who suffer most. To understand how people around the world experience corruption, we believe it’s important to have data. That’s why since 2003 we have been asking ordinary people if and how they experience corruption in their daily lives. In last the last two years we’ve surveyed 162,000 citizens from 119 countries and this week we released the results. The Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) it is the largest survey of its kind and gives us valuable insight about what people experience and just how far countries have to go to fight corruption. This is how we found out, for example, that nearly one in four people paid a bribe when they accessed a public service in the 12 months prior to when the question was asked, and that 57 per cent think their government is doing badly in fighting corruption. However, there is good news: more than half the people around the world – and particularly young people – agreed that average citizens could make a difference. We had further evidence of from our chapter in Italy this week. Andrea Franzoso discovered and spoke out against corruption at the railway company Ferrovie Nord Milano (FNM) where he was employed. He found that former president Norberto Achille was using company funds for personal use. Transparency International Italy brought a civil case against Achille who was eventually sentenced for misappropriation and fraud. Cases like this show that individual decisions and actions can make a difference. But people won’t speak up if they fear reprisal. That’s why it is important to protect those who stand up against corruption. This week, Italy took an important step in that direction, when parliament passed a law to protect whistleblowers. Legal victories like this can help encourage other citizens to speak up when they see wrongdoing, and this is just one way ordinary people can stop corruption. Everything helps: from sharing a simple tweet to reporting corruption at work – don’t underestimate the power a single action can have! | 