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Barbara Ross
English social worker and gender counsellor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Barbara Ross (1929 – 16 February 2015)[1][2] was a social worker and gender counsellor, noted for her work for the LGBT community in Norfolk.[2][3]
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Early life
Barbara Gladys Ross[4] was born in Essex in 1929, and moved to London on marrying her first husband.[2] She qualified as a social worker, gaining significant experience in London's East End between 1950 and 1970.[5]
Ross moved to Norfolk in 1970 with her second husband, and lived in the village of Stoke Holy Cross.[2]
Career
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In 1974, Ross' career in gender counselling began with a referral from a fellow social worker, who asked her to see "a strange young man who is probably gay".[5] This individual's gender dysphoria, and subsequent death by suicide, prompted Ross' efforts to provide focused support for transgender people.[5]
Ross founded the Norfolk-based Gender Identity Services, through which she worked to provide medical advice and psychological support.[5] In the early 1980s, she founded OASIS: a support group for trans people and their partners, family and friends, providing an environment of mutual support and friendship.[6][7]
In 2001, Ross organised the first International Transgender Conference, held at the University of East Anglia.[5] This developed into a biennial series, bringing together experts from across the world.[5][8] The Barbara Ross Association was established in 2009 to continue Ross' work, including the running of the Transgender Conferences and Oasis.[8] The conferences continued until 2016.[6]
In 2007, Ross was nominated for the Outstanding Achiever of the Year 2006 award, one of the Department of Health's annual Health and Social Care Awards.[9] In 2011, she received an OBE "for services to Gender Dysphoria".[10][11][12]
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Legacy
In 2021, Ross was among the women selected by Norwich-based group Rosie's Plaques to be featured on stones painted and left around the city, honouring local women on International Women's Day.[1] In 2024, theatre and activist group The Common Lot named an alley for Ross as part of the project "Rename the Streets!".[13][14]
External links
References
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