Valery Wichman is an

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

activist from the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

. She is the former president of the Te Tiare Association, the first association for LGBTQI++ in the Cook Islands, and has been involved with the group since its inception in 2008.

Early life and education

Wichman grew up in

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 10,898 of a total population of 15,040. The Parliament of the Cook Islands, Coo ...

. She began attending the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

in 2007.

Career

In 2016 Wichman was admitted to the High Court in New Zealand as a barrister and solicitor. Wichman works as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

and

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

for the Cook Islands' government, and has worked in the role of Director of Central Policy and Planning.

Activism

Through the Te Tiare Association, Wichman has worked since 2019 to petition the government to repeal the country's laws which criminalises homosexuality.

Honours and recognition

In 2016, Wichman was given a Queen's Young Leaders Award for her work in advancing LGBT rights. Wichman was chosen for the University of Auckland's 2021 40 Under 40 list. In February 2024 she was awarded the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, becoming the first Pacific person to receive the award.

Personal life

Wichman is a

trans woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wichman, Valery Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Cook Island activists Cook Island lawyers Cook Island women in politics 21st-century Cook Island women LGBTQ in the Cook Islands LGBTQ rights activists New Zealand transgender women New Zealand LGBTQ lawyers People from Rarotonga University of Auckland alumni 21st-century New Zealand LGBTQ people