Caster Semenya In Trauma Counseling After Tests Leaked

South African middle distance runner Caster Semenya has gone into hiding and is reportedly receiving trauma counseling after tests were leaked that reveal she is intersexed, according to South African media.

News 24: "As Semenya withdrew from a 4km cross-country race in Pretoria on Saturday, Athletics South Africa spokeswoman Phiwe Mlangeni-Tsholetsane confirmed the athlete was receiving counseling but denied a report that she is suicidal. Mlangeni-Tsholetsane said: 'She has not mentioned suicide. She is an extremely strong and determined young woman. But the past few days have been extremely difficult. Every day she meets with psychologists who are trying to help her through what is happening around her. We are concerned for her well-being.' "

Meanwhile, Athletics South Africa (ASA) demands the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) apologize to Caster Semenya for their handling of the investigation into her gender. The story of the 18 year-old University of Pretoria student who won 800m gold in a world-leading time, now the focus of a gender controversy, has become a global phenomenon. The results of complex gender tests were leaked last week that reveal she is intersexed with internal testes and no uterus or ovaries.

Semenya Receiving Counseling [News 24]
ASA Calls on IAAF to Apologize [Guardian]

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Report: Semenya Intersex, Internal Testes, No Ovaries [R20]

Comments

[Lang B]

Truly sad state of being. Media has gone overboard in this generation. Nobody thinks of the after effects of broadcasting info blatantly anymore. This is the No Privacy era for sure.

[nathans]

yes my heart goes out to her... I cant imagine what it must be like to have something so personal announced to the world (BEFORE you yourself are aware of it).

[Osiris]

:(

Sadness.

[Gobezu]

so sad, she should sue the hell out of the very institution that leaked her private info w/o consent

i am sorry to say this but we ourselves are fueling this media drive

if we refuse to read and talk about it they would never report it

but then again, nowadays there is no we and them, you blog away and suddenly you are them

[Jim]

For many American Christians, for whose fragile self-esteem there is nothing more critical than a hyper-strict separation of what defines male and female, this woman is the Devil’s spawn.

But as they say, God never makes mistakes.

The one possible exception to that rule seems to be many of his followers.

[Mad Professah]

Rod, "gender" and "sex" are not synonyms.

They have done SEX testing on Caster, not gender testing.

[Isis]

I can't imagine how she feels! I pray that she finds the strength to get over this. But My God its ALL OVER the World. I believe she had no clue what was going on in her body. Her Mom called her a girl and that was that! Again, I'm praying for her.

I brought this up at work and everyone looked at me weird. This is really touchy for other women, but I want to discuss it. We can't be scared to discuss uncomfortable things. WHat if I have a child like this one day? I need to be able to handle this accordingly. People are scared to talk about things and that has contributed to much of the problems in the world.

[DW Jazzlover]

There are some sad people in this world. My heart goes out to this Child, I hope she soon knows God does not make mistakes.
She is beautiful and complete just as she is...

[H. Smart]

Bless her heart. I hope that she can heal from this.