People raising concerns against businesses face highest rate of attacks in five years

New global analysis reveals 790 recorded attacks in 2025 against people raising concerns about business-related risks and harms. This is the highest figure in the past five years, equivalent to more than two attacks per day on average. And it includes 53 deaths.

The Business and Human Rights Centre published the research. It records attacks against people speaking out about corporate conduct across 80 countries and almost every sector. These range from multinational technology firms and mining corporations to renewable energy companies and agricultural producers.

In 2025, the companies and / or projects linked to the highest number of attacks were:

• The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (oil and gas).
• Grasberg mine (mining).
• Leonardo (defence).
• Cobre Panamá (mining).
• Dinant (agribusiness).

160 companies linked to attacks

Those who experienced attacks raised human rights concerns about 160 companies headquartered in 37 countries. This points to the very clear human cost of irresponsible business practice.

Companies headquartered in China (47 attacks), USA (43), UK (41), France (41), Tanzania (40) and Uganda (40) were connected with attacks more frequently than companies from any other countries.

Meanwhile, industries connected with land use and environmental harm continue to be the most dangerous. Mining, fossil fuels and agribusiness are connected to the highest number of attacks.

There was a significant proportion of lethal violence, with 53 people killed for speaking out against corporate conduct.

Overall, the most common tactic was judicial harassment (52%), including arrests, detention, criminalisation and strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). SLAPPs see powerful individuals or corporations misusing legal action to silence, intimidate and financially exhaust critics.

Christen Dobson, co-head of the Civic Freedoms & Human Rights Defenders Programme, said:

The attacks we recorded in 2025 point to a story about global power: who holds it, how it is exercised and what happens when people challenge it.

Those speaking out against corporate risks and harms are often portrayed as obstacles to progress when, in reality, they are its architects. They are leaders in protecting our natural environments, democracies and the health of our planet. They are our early warning systems: they expose risks before they become crises, they defend ecosystems before they collapse, and they challenge injustices before they become entrenched.

When people raising concerns about corporate harms are attacked – through intimidation, legal threats, or physical violence – these are not a series of isolated incidents, but a global pattern of retaliation against people exercising freedom of expression and advocating for rights-respecting economies.

These voices also provide vital information to businesses, without which companies and their investors risk remaining unaware about the risks embedded within their supply chains.

This often leads to increased risk of conflict, delays and financial losses, which could be avoided by ensuring respect for human rights and working towards shared prosperity with people affected by their operations.

The increasing overlap between governments exploiting national security rhetoric to violate rights and corporate influence on governments, amplified by digital technologies used to restrict civic space, is heightening risks worldwide.

And it’s highlighting the urgent need for companies to adopt and implement zero-tolerance policies for attacks on those speaking against corporate harm.

The energy transition at risk

The findings are particularly significant for companies and investors involved in the energy transition. 42 attacks were against those raising concerns about at least one of the nearly 300 mines used for transition mineral mining.

Two of the top five projects or companies associated with the highest number of attacks in 2025 were mines extracting copper, which is used in wind turbines, solar panels, electrical grid infrastructure and electric vehicle charging stations and motors.

Mining has consistently been the most dangerous sector, with 181 attacks recorded in 2025 against people speaking about abuses. Only five mining companies have a policy commitment to zero tolerance for attacks, with none of these policies meeting expected criteria.

Meanwhile, people safeguarding the environment are among those most at risk, which jeopardises an energy transition that is fair and inclusive for all. An overwhelming majority of attacks (75%) targeted people protecting the climate, land and environment, while Indigenous Peoples experienced 30% of attacks, despite making up just six per cent of the global population.

Hannah Matthews, Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders researcher and database coordinator, said:

Fast tracking business projects without meaningfully consulting with people affected is a key driver of increasing conflict, losing public trust and derailing the just energy transition.

Sustainability and long-term value depend on a fundamental fact: operating in environments where defenders are attacked, civic freedoms are restricted and democracy is weakened significantly increases risk, undermines market stability, and erodes the conditions businesses depend on to thrive.

Featured image via the Canary