Jessica WILLIAMS - BIO
Jessica is a post-operative transexual woman. She lived the first 50 years of her life as a male and was successful as a man. That success however over time became a trap, imprisoning her in an identity and role in which she was increasingly uncomfortable. For a long time she strenuously fought against the emerging awareness of her innate gender as a woman. Eventually the pressures of living in the world this way became too much and she began the process of medically assisted gender-reassignment in 2003.
Jessica was born and lived the first 30 years of her life in Sydney. She met and fell in love with her future wife while at University and they were married in 1968. While completing her Bachelor of Arts degree she fathered two children and is now a grandparent to four. From 1974 she and her family relocated to a rural locality in South Western NSW and became involved in local community activities. Jessica separated from her wife in 1992 and was divorced in 1996. Since 1992 Jessica has lived in Sydney and in the Southern Tablelands, relocating again to Sydney in 2007 to complete her gender re-assignment.
Following a year as a high school teacher, in 1969 she began a career in the Commonwealth Public Service in Sydney eventually serving in four departments and one Statutory Authority. From 1974 she began working in the National Capital, Canberra. Her experience ranges over a number of fields including staff training and development, desk officer in the Middle East Group of the former Department of Trade, the export promotion of Australian Professional Consultancy Services overseas, Export Finance, and administering Investment Attraction Programmes. She ended her career as Manager South Pacific Regional Office in Sydney and took a Redundancy from the Australian Trade Commission in 1996. She worked as a full-time share trader from 1996-2000 after which she was a full-time Carer for her elderly and increasingly frail parents until their deaths in 2002. It was during this turbulent and difficult time, Jessica began her journey of gender transition.
Jessica was a committed member of her local communities in the Southern Tablelands, serving as Treasurer and later President of the Bungonia Progress Association, became active as a chorister and parishioner in the Anglican cathedral parish of St Saviour in Goulburn NSW, was initiated into Freemasonry in 1984 and was appointed as a Trustee of the Bungonia State Recreation Area by the NSW State Government in 1985. Since 1992, Jessica was active as a choir member in two Anglican parishes in Sydney.
A major achievement in her professional capacity was securing $28million incremental Budgetary funding to a highly significant Australian aid program of considerable importance to exporters of capital equipment. In her local community she secured grants totaling $64,650 for a Community Employment Project 1984-86 which provided for five capital works and renovation programs in Bungonia. With the contribution from local community groups the total project was valued at $70,000.
In Canberra in 1974, Jessica was "outed" as a married gay man. Despite her openness about being gay in her domestic life with her wife and members of her immediate family, social conditions in Australia were exceedingly hostile to married gays, especially in regional localities. From 1974 Jessica became aware that she was the target of a particularly virulent campaign of vilification and stigmatisation which has pursued her since that time which included experiencing workplace discrimination and harassment over twenty years. Although social and cultural conditions in Australia for transexuals, lesbians, bisexuals and gays have improved since the mid-1970s, mainstream Australia remains resistant to accepting these people on equal terms with heterosexuals.
Jessica is fortunate in the support of her immediate family and friends. In some cases that friendship and support has been from the most unexpected sources. Jessica believes that with their continuing support, she will be able to move forward in her life and continue to make contributions to her various communities.