You used the term “protected” and that is important. It comes back to what my colleague said about more general and international measures. There must be some sort of unofficial procedure before an individual decides to make what is known as an official disclosure.
Let us suppose that I talk to a colleague about my concerns, and that someone gets wind of the conversation before I can make my official disclosure. I could find myself promoted to a job on Mars, when that is not what I had expected.