Aotearoa (New Zealand). Joanne Proctor, noted authority and activist for intersex and transsexual rights, passed away at home on or about Sunday, 27 February 2011. Known as "Jo" to her friends, an extensive medical history included chronic hypertension and angina. Hospitalizations had become more frequent in recent years, leading her to move away from her beloved rural location so she could be closer to urban medical care.

The funeral arrangements remain uncertain, but are expected to be held in the town of Te Kuiti, part of the rural Waikato region in New Zealand.


TS-Si updates the text of this article as we confirm new information.Jo grew up in Kaikoura as the second of four children. Her father was alienated by her childhood preference for typically female playthings, such as dolls. Later on, her mother wish she was dead. Both parents died before Jo was able to reconcile their differences.

She survived a difficult adolescence and a seven-year drug dependency that culuminated in a suicide attempt involving barbiturates in 1990.

However, she successfully detoxed from drugs at age 27 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, then completed a three-year course of study at the University of Waikato Law School, serving with distinction as a barrister.

Proctor had waged a years-long battle with the bureaucracy that became a public controversy before she could attain her 2002 surgical correction in New Zealand at age 53. She originally was scheduled to have the surgery at Waikato Hospital in May 1997 under provisions of of New Zealand's publicly funded health care and Midland Health (a now-withdrawn regional health authority). However, Midland Health decided against funding sex changes less than a week before Proctor's operation.

In 2000, the Chief Ombudsman Sir Brian Elwood ruled she had been unfairly denied the surgery. It took two more years until the surgery finally took place.

While well-known to be a reclusive and intensely private person in her daily life, Jo's sense of justice and fair play led her to become a major advocate for the rights of intersex people and those of transsexual history, committed to their fair treatment around the world, whatever their station in life.

Lisa Thompson, a TS-Si Co-founder, says "We grieve for the loss of Jo Proctor, our loving and trusted friend, who passed away this week. TS-Si offers condolences to her family and friends."

She was noted for her pursuit of full and equal rights for all. Her many friends and admirers found inspiration in her selflessness advocacy for the welfare of others. The current degree of understanding between intersex people and those of transsexual history was due in large part to her efforts.

Jo Proctor served on the board of Organisation Internationale des Intersexués (OII), managed the OII New Zealand website, and maintained her own web sites. Jo also was a regular columnist for TS-Si.

Sharon Gaughan, who corresponded with Jo for many years, dating back to the early 1990s, said "Eventually, I had the honor of working with Jo as her editor here at TS-Si. She was a bright, loving and wonderful woman who overcame severe challenges in her own life to be herself, but never forgot the needs of others."

"She was my beloved friend. We are all deeply grieved by her loss."

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