This is the page to read if you want to know what we actually do with a report. Our method is deliberate, and its purpose is to make sure that what we hand to an authority is worth acting on, and that no one is harmed by being examined.
Our standard of evidence
We act on evidence, not on suspicion. A matter has to clear a bar before we take it forward, and it has to keep clearing that bar as it moves. Being examined is not the same as being accused, and it is a long way from being convicted. We do not publish accusations, we do not name people or businesses on this site, and we do not treat an open matter as a proven one.
How a matter opens
A matter opens when there is something real to examine, a report from a victim, a referral from an organisation we work with, or material that points to a specific, checkable set of facts. A hunch is not enough. If there is nothing concrete to look at, there is no matter.
The method
Once a matter is open, it moves through the same disciplined steps, in order.
- Intake We record what we have been given and who gave it to us, and we set out plainly what the matter is about. Nothing is assumed at this stage.
- Assessment We test whether there is a real question to answer and whether it falls within what we do. Some matters stop here, and that is a proper outcome.
- Corroboration We look for evidence that supports, or contradicts, what has been reported. A single account is a starting point, not a finding. We weigh what can be independently checked more heavily than what cannot.
- Documentation Where the evidence holds, we assemble it to the standard a case requires, ordered, sourced, and capable of being examined by someone who was not there.
- Referral We take the documented matter to the competent authority equipped to act on it. The decision to act is theirs, not ours.
How we handle material, and people
We handle what we are sent securely, and we share it only with the people who need it to do the work. We treat everyone fairly, including the person or business a matter concerns. Examination is not judgement. We do not name those we are examining, we do not publish what we are looking into, and we do not present an open question as a settled one.
Where this connects
The neutral, factual stages a matter passes through are set out in full on the escalation process. How reports are handled in each country, and which authorities they reach, is covered under jurisdictions.
Received a notice from one of our investigators? See Verify a notice from us. If you have material for an open or new matter, you can submit evidence directly.