Sensitive topics touch on areas of personal or collective, but always painful, experiences and are often difficult to perceive and address in the public space. Such topics can have ambiguous and contradictory interpretations.
The consequences of working with sensitive topics can affect people’s feelings, rights, and, in some cases, even their lives.
Once we acknowledge the high degree of responsibility of all participants in the design process, discussing the risks that may arise at any stage of the work — from preparation to launch — is immediately necessary.
It is also important to clarify right away a distinctive feature of this guide: by project participants, we mean all the people involved in the life of the project: subjects, authors, and viewers.
When choosing a topic and deciding to start a project, it is essential to consider and present all potential scenarios for project development and their possible consequences — both during content development and after project publication.
What risks can project participants face?
Violation of personal boundaries;
Violation of personal boundaries;
When dealing with sensitive topics, it is difficult to predict the scale of public response, which may be unpredictable in nature and content;
between several parties, alternative
viewpoints can be overlooked, and all levels of circumstances might not be considered;
of an absolute truth;
presence in people’s lives;
When dealing with sensitive topics, it is difficult to predict the scale of public response, which may be unpredictable in nature and content;
between several parties, alternative
viewpoints can be overlooked, and all levels of circumstances might not be considered;
of an absolute truth;
presence in people’s lives;
the photo of the year — I voted against it.
Recall the controversial episode related to the 2017 World Press Photo contest. The winner in the category of Spot News was a photograph showing the killer of the Russian ambassador at the opening of an exhibition in an art gallery in Ankara. This photograph was also named Photograph of the Year. Jury chairman Stuart Franklin was against this decision and opened a discussion that became an intense debate within the photographic community. Franklin expressed concern that if the world’s top photojournalism competition selects an image depicting violence as Photograph of the Year, it could equate to normalizing murder. Franklin also argued that every circle of authoritative professionals in any field carries responsibility for defining norms and ideals in the public space.
Experiencing excessive agitation from the material may lead them to distance themselves from the topic or even feel aversion towards it, resulting in rejection and reluctance to show empathy, participation, and assistance;
Experiencing excessive agitation from the material may lead them to distance themselves from the topic or even feel aversion towards it, resulting in rejection and reluctance to show empathy, participation, and assistance;
We want to convey to the readers of this guide the understanding that a project is an indivisible space of values. Therefore, every part of the project — from material collection to the development process or final publication — should not cause harm, violate ethics, or offend the feelings of anyone involved.
A significant internal criterion and hint in ethical matters is the balance of resources and effects — are our actions and their consequences commensurate with the results we aim to achieve?
The project’s effects will be discussed in detail in the next chapter.