Victoria Gillick

Victoria D. M. Gillick (née Gudgeon; born 1946, Hendon) is a British activist and campaigner best known for the eponymous 1985 UK House of Lords ruling[1] that considered whether contraception could be prescribed to under-16s without parental consent or knowledge. The ruling established the term "Gillick competence" to describe whether a minor (below the age of 16) is able to consent to his or her own medical treatment, without the need for parental permission or knowledge.

A Roman Catholic mother of 10 children (five sons, five daughters), Gillick began her campaign in 1980 in response to a DHSS circular issuing guidance on contraceptive a minor could consent to treatment, and that in these circumstances a parent had no power to veto treatment.

In 2000, Gillick lost a libel action[2] against the Brook Advisory Centres, which she claimed accused her of being "morally responsible" for a rise in teenage pregnancies. Costs of £4,298.15 were awarded against her. In 2002, however, she won an apology and damages amounting to £5,000 and costs.[3]

Living in Wisbech,[4] she is married to Cambridgeshire County Councillor and former UKIP councillor Gordon Gillick.[5] One of their sons is the painter James Gillick.