Assessing Risk for Whom

Terms such as impact or risk communications are often associated with large projects managed by large organisations. Much too often we forget that the assessment is for the potential impact on people. Looking at risk assessment in relation to people makes the issue more real because it is no longer about things but about people. Regrettably, this viewpoint is often overlooked leading to harm being unintentionally committed on innocent people.

A case in point is the regrettable developments of the past few weeks which started at the recent athletics games in Berlin. What should have been a moment of great glory for an exceptional athlete has increasingly become a matter of public spectacle and political upmanship.

At issue is who knew what when, who lied and why and lastly why didn’t they do anything to minimize harm to an individual who brought glory to the country. Naturally, issues like these sell newspapers and has broad media interest, local and international. While we may argue about the insensitivity in how the media dealt with the issue, the fact is that it is not up to the media to be sensitive. Officials responsible should have handled the matter differently to ensure that any media reports on the issue are packaged differently. This did not happen and now everyone seems to have an opinion on the issue with some suggesting a commission of enquiry on this saga. If this takes place, this issue will further drag the issue that much longer in the media.

The debate ranging on the athlete in question is taking place around her without her involvement. Nobody seems to be considering her feelings and the humiliation she may be undergoing and the
potential for astrocisation from her community and her friends.

Amidst all the debate and discussions about her, it is clear that no proper assessment was made on the impact of enquiries about her gender. Once the debate was started, there seems not to have been any proper risk analysis, or strategy, to deal with such risk once it occurred.

How long it will take before the athlete in question starts to live a normal life out of media glare and intrusion into her life is thus far unknown, particularly if the speculations about her gender turn out to be true and are pronounced publicly. At this stage, those in a position to do so, are taking no steps at some form of public education to about this status with the likelihood that in future, anyone known to be similar, will continue to be perceived as some form of a natural anomaly.

Her crime? To win decisively at an international athletic competition of note.