Corruption is everywhere. And with corruption comes injustice.
As American civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. noted, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Which is especially unfortunate given the findings of a new survey detailing that the world is indeed becoming more corrupt on a global scale, and thus perhaps less just.
A new global survey says that more than one person in two thinks corruption has worsened in the last two years. Corruption watchdog Transparency International said last week that more than a quarter of people worldwide paid a bribe when dealing with public services in the past 12 months.
“Bribe paying levels remain very high worldwide, but people believe they have the power to stop corruption and the number of those willing to combat the abuse of power, secret dealings and bribery is significant,” said Huguette Labelle, chair of Transparency International. Sadly, the survey found that people do not trust the institutions they typically rely on to combat crime and corruption.
What areas have been most affected by this growing trend, and what can global citizens do to address the problem?
Corrupt institutions violate public trust
Transparency International’s 2013 Global Corruption Barometer, which is based on interviews with 114,270 people in 107 countries across the globe, uses a public opinion survey to estimate the prevalence of corruption across national institutions worldwide.
“Governments need to take this cry against corruption from their citizenry seriously and respond with concrete action to elevate transparency and accountability. Strong leadership is needed from the G-20 governments in particular. In the 17 countries surveyed in the G-20, 59 percent of respondents said their government is not doing a good job at fighting corruption,” Labelle said.
Moreover, the survey found that in many countries, the very institutions intended to fight corruption are themselves not trusted. Thirty-six countries view the police as the most corrupt institution, and in those countries an average of 53 per cent of people had been asked to pay a bribe to the police. Twenty countries view the judiciary as the most corrupt, and in those countries an average of 30 per cent of the people who had come in contact with the judicial systems had been asked to pay a bribe.
In general, 27 per cent of respondents have paid a bribe when accessing public services and institutions in the last 12 months, which the group says reveals no improvement from previous surveys.
While the report concludes that bribery is a global problem, it highlights that this problem isn’t an equally distributed one.
Spotlight on corruption
The report found that less than 5 percent of respondents in the least corrupt 16 countries admitted to giving bribes, while on the other end of the spectrum, more than half of the people surveyed in the most corrupt 14 countries reported paying off officials. Of those countries, 11 are located in Africa.
The report detailed that in post-Gaddafi Libya, 62 percent of respondents reported having paid bribes.
The country has struggled to rebuild itself over the last two years since the revolt that ended Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year rule. The country has sinced witnessed the birth of militia rule, frequent assassinations and the influence of radical Islamists. There is much anger directed at the 200-member General National Congress, elected in July 2012, the BBC reports.
As transitional authorities who took power after Gaddafi’s demise have stalled on addressing major problems such as building a much-needed security apparatus. A scheme to help the war wounded became mired in corruption, following revelations that many people who were flown abroad for medical treatment had not been injured in the conflict.
The country continues to struggle with unrest. Just last week reports emerged that the Libyan government took back control of its Interior Ministry from an armed group that besieged the building for a week.
Meanwhile, Kenyans staged an “Occupy Parliment” protest in the capital city of Nairobi back in May, after legislators moved to raise their salaries to 84 times that of an average Kenyan worker.
Protesters held signs and spilled animal blood over an entrance to Kenya’s parliament doors. They also released three dozen piglets symbolizing the “greedy pigs” title they levied on the lawmakers due to their greedy salary demands. In Kenya, minimum wage is about $1,500 a year, with many people living on less than that. Legislators moved to reverse a government commission ruling that shrank their salaries from the equivalent of roughly $126,000 to $78,500 per year. Police fired tear gas and water cannons, and used batons to beat and disperse the protesters.
In Kenya, the percent of people admitting to giving bribes to officials climbed to 70 percent. In Liberia, 75 percent of respondents said that they had given money to officials.
In the U.S., 60 percent of people said that corruption has increased over the last two years, while only 10 percent said it has decreased by any amount, according to the survey.
Slightly more than 7 percent of Americans admitted to paying a bribe to any of eight major public services in the last 12 months. Of those people, 15 percent said they paid a bribe to someone who works in the judiciary, 14 percent paid one to registry and permit services, and 11 percent paid off someone in education services.
Combatting corruption
Political parties were viewed as the most corrupt institutions in 51 countries, including in the United States. Perhaps more shocking is the realization that other sectors like medical institutions, religious organizations and even the media are also believed to be accepting bribes.
What’s perhaps so disheartening about this information — other than the obvious — is that many of the institutions named are those in which the public has placed its trust… to fight corruption. So what’s the solution?
In the first place, distribution of income and access to social services among citizens across the globe should be prioritized by all legislative bodies and social institutions. The rapidly widening income gap among citizens worldwide also needs to be narrowed. Where there is the greatest divide between the haves and have-nots one finds the greatest propensity for corruption. True equality is linked to economic well-being for all.
It is encouraging to note that survey participants also firmly believe they can make a difference and have the will to take action against corruption. Nearly 9 out of 10 people surveyed said they would act against corruption and two-thirds of those who were asked to pay a bribe had refused, suggesting that governments, civil society and the business sector need to do more to engage people in thwarting corruption.
“Governments need to make sure that there are strong, independent and well-resourced institutions to prevent and redress corruption. Too many people are harmed when these core institutions and basic services are undermined by the scourge of corruption,” Labelle concluded.
While all the results of the survey may seem depressing and lead one to conclude that true justice can never be won, this is simply untrue. One individual can make a difference in stopping corruption and beginning to build a better world. The Arab Spring began when a Tunisian vegetable seller refused to pay a bribe to a policewoman. This one action led to oppressive regimes collapsing in several countries, and served as a beacon of hope for justice-seekers everywhere.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Mint Press News editorial policy.