Toname and shame is to "publicly say that a person, group or business has done something wrong".[1] It is a form of public shaming used to rally popular opinion against and, in turn, discourage certain kinds of behavior or enterprises. The practice occurs both at the domestic and the international levels, where naming-and-shaming is often used to denounce unfair business practicesorhuman rights violations.[2]
There is some evidence that naming and shaming can reduce atrocities and make the named and shamed governments improve their human rights records.[3][4][5][6] Some scholars, however, question whether naming-and-shaming has the intended effects.[7][6][5]
Naming and shaming is a common strategy to compel and deter changes in state and non-state behavior. It is a prevalent strategy when states engage in human rights abuses.[8][9][10] It has also been used to compel improvements in environmental policies,[11][12] stopping whaling being one such example.[13][14]
Naming offending individuals or businesses (with the implied objective of shaming them) is sometimes used as an instrument of public policy intended to promote compliance with legal obligations or with the duty to put right the damage caused by non-compliance.
Examples are:
