Monday, February 19, 2007

Gina Wilson

Gina Wilson - OII Support and Outreach Coordinator (Australia)

Gina Wilson was born in rural Victoria in the early fifties with a form of salt wasting CAH and complicated X chromosomes.

She survived significant childhood sexual abuse as a result of her (so called) "ambiguous" genital appearance. Her recovery from sex abuse is her greatest achievement.

She lived androgynously and isolated for most of her life until she undertook a course of abuse recovery. At about that time she had the last of a series of surgeries that sought to rectify some aspects of her CAH and most of the "corrective" surgery she received as an infant. Her CAH is now mostly controlled .

She has a degree in aeronautical engineering and another in electronics. She spent a good deal of her life restoring and flying old areoplanes and specialised in the life of type extension of ex-military jets.

She is now retired and devotes much of my time to writing, literature and the visual arts.

She met her life partner after she had made some progress in her abuse recovery. (She was able to touch people at last). They have been together for some years now. That would have to be the best thing in her life and has made some sense of all that went before it.

She is the primary caregiver of a 96 year old friend and involves herself in some aged care welfare work.

She is active with intersex groups, child abuse survivor and child abuse recovery groups, suicide and mental illness awareness and support groups.