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Wikipedia

Mermaids (charity)

January 01, 1970

Mermaids is a British charity and advocacy organisation that supports gender variant and transgender youth.[1][3] It also provides inclusion and diversity training.[4] Mermaids was founded in 1995 by a group of parents of gender nonconforming children[5] and became a charitable incorporated organisation in 2015.[6]

Mermaids
Founded1995[1]
TypeNonprofit advocacy organisation
Registration no.1160575
PurposeTransgender rights
Location
  • Offices in London and Leeds
CEO
Lauren Stoner
Revenue (2020)
£902,437[2]
Expenses (2020)£1,041,326[2]
Staff (2020)
18 employees, 7 trustees, 31 volunteers[2]
Websitemermaidsuk.org.uk

History edit

Formation and leadership edit

Mermaids was founded in 1995 by a group of parents of gender nonconforming children, originally acting as a small helpline.[5] It aims to provide support for transgender youths up to 20 years of age.[1][7] Mermaids became a Charitable incorporated organisation in 2015.[6]

Susie Green was the chief executive from January 2016 until 25 November 2022 when she resigned.[8] Previously she worked as an IT manager at the Citizens Advice Bureau in Leeds. Green was a trustee of Mermaids for four years from 2011. Her daughter is one of the youngest individuals in the UK to have transitioned surgically.[9][10]

Lauren Stoner was made interim chief executive in December 2022[11] and was appointed CEO for two years in February 2024.[12]

In August 2023, it was announced that Belinda Bell would be stepping down as chair of the charity, while remaining as a trustee.[13] Kathryn Downs, who is transgender, became chair in February 2024.[12]

Lobbying the Tavistock Gender Identity Development Service edit

In the years from 2000, Mermaids alongside another campaign group, GIRES (Gender Identity Research and Education Society), lobbied clinicians at the NHS Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) for early interventions on children.[14] After taking her child to Boston, Massachusetts in 2007 to receive puberty blockers, Susie Green worked to make them available in Britain from GIDS.[14] In response, GIDS began prescribing blockers from 2011 onwards, making them widely available in response to demand from families.[14] Clinical psychologist Kirsty Entwistle, on the GIDS staff from 2017, said: "Those who'd connected with Mermaids were terrified, because they'd been told that their child was going to kill themselves if they didn't get blockers."[14] GIDS describes suicide as "extremely rare".[14]

In July 2022, NHS England decided to close GIDS and replace it with regional healthcare centres, following the publication of the independent Cass Review.[15] In response to the decision, Mermaids CEO Susie Green was "cautiously optimistic", but expressed concerns that priority would be given to mental health over medical care.[16] She said: "We would not want any further barriers to be put in place in terms of access to medical intervention."[16]

Online harassment of staff edit

In 2017, Mermaids reported that it and its volunteers had been the victims of online harassment. CEO Green stated that she had been falsely accused of forcibly castrating her transgender daughter, Jackie. Her daughter maintained that "If my mum had not helped me, I would not be here today" and transgender journalist Paris Lees wrote: "Susie Green is saving lives and I wish my parents had known about Mermaids when I was growing up". Green raised concerns "that the social media backlash may put people off coming to the charity for help."[17]

National Lottery funding edit

In December 2018, the charity was designated £500,000 in funding by the Big Lottery Fund, to create a national network of local groups.[18][19] However, the funding was put under review after criticism of the charity, including by anti-trans activist Graham Linehan,[20] who created a post on Mumsnet calling for members of the forum to email their concerns to the National Lottery.[21][22] In response to this, on 18 January 2019, YouTuber Hbomberguy began a livestream attempting to 101% complete the video game Donkey Kong 64, with a goal of $500 to be donated to Mermaids. The stream became popular and raised over US$350,000 for Mermaids.[23] Among other guests, the stream featured an appearance by American politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.[24] On 19 February 2019, the National Lottery concluded its review into the charity and announced that it would follow through with the promised donation, stating that "did not find any grounds to withhold the grant.".[25] However, in October 2022, National Lottery funding was paused due to the investigation by the Charity Commission.[26]

Media edit

The 2018 ITV drama series Butterfly, about a young transgender girl, was substantially informed by Mermaids and its CEO, Susie Green, a consultant on the series who worked with creator Tony Marchant.[27] Marchant and cast members Emmett J. Scanlan and Anna Friel also met families involved with Mermaids to inform their creative processes.[28][29]

In July 2020, the charity complained that the BBC had no longer included links to themselves on BBC LGBT advice pages, alongside two other organisations.[30][31] The BBC said that Mermaids was removed after complaints were made about the information it provided, and for impartiality reasons.[31]

Data breach edit

In June 2019, The Times revealed that they had discovered a data breach by Mermaids in which confidential emails had been made readily available through their website.[32] The Times stated that these included names of transgender children and their parents, together with contact details and intimate medical information. The newspaper reported that there were internal emails from the trustees that criticised the leadership by Susie Green, as well as criticism from parents.[32] Mermaids issued a press release on the same day, which acknowledged that a data breach had occurred, and that they had informed the Information Commissioner's Office and had corrected the breach. The press release stated that the breach was limited to internal emails and that no emails to and from families were part of the information leaked; The Times disputed this.[7][32] After an investigation, Mermaids were required to pay a £25,000 fine.[33]

Training edit

Writing in The Daily Telegraph in September 2020, Kim Thomas said that some pressure groups, including Safe Schools Alliance and Transgender Trend, have argued that some resources used by Mermaids in training sessions reinforce rigid gender roles and might cause non-conforming children to identify as transgender.[34] In contrast, Attitude quoted Kate Lister, who said that the resource is "a visual representation of gender identifying markers ... At no point does anyone suggest children who act in ways that do not conform to a gender are trans. At no point does anyone suggest gay children are trans."[35] Likewise, Mermaids released a statement saying that they have never encouraged teachers "to state that 'tomboys' should be transgender", and that they do not provide classroom talks or lesson materials for schools, contrary to what had been reported in some newspapers.[4]

Following the commencement of the regulatory compliance case by the Charity Commission in 2022, the Department for Education has removed Mermaids from its mental health and wellbeing resources for schools.[36]

Government policy edit

The charity criticised the UK Government's April 2021 decision to disband the LGBT advisory board without a planned replacement, describing the move as "very concerning".[37]

Challenge to LGB Alliance charitable status edit

Main article: LGB Alliance § Challenge to charitable status

In June 2021, Mermaids along with other charities including Stonewall began raising funds to appeal the awarding of charitable status to LGB Alliance, describing the latter group's activities as "denigrating trans people".[38] The case began in September 2022,[39] and ruled in July 2023. The judges determined that "the law does not permit Mermaids to challenge the decision made by the Charity Commission to register LGB Alliance as a charity".[40]

Conference at Great Ormond Street Hospital edit

In March 2022, Susie Green was due to speak on a panel regarding support for transgender youth, alongside Stephanie Davies-Arai, of Transgender Trend, a "gender-critical" website. The panel would have been part of an event, eventually postponed, for an expected 100 to 150 trainee child psychiatrists organised by Great Ormond Street Hospital and Health Education England.[41] Paediatrician Hilary Cass, journalist Helen Joyce, psychotherapist Stella O'Malley, and academic Lisa Littman would also have participated.[42]

Following complaints to the organisers by Mermaids and a trainee doctor, Davies-Arai's appearance was cancelled. Susie Green said that Mermaids "cannot be a part of a conference that gives a platform to Transgender Trend" and advised the organisers to "stay clear of anyone involved with anti-trans pseudo-medical platforms that have been set up with the sole intention of attacking trans people (especially trans youth) and their healthcare." Davies-Arai said that it "should concern everyone that the NHS has allowed unsubstantiated claims of 'transphobia' to influence their decisions."[41]

Standards of Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse People edit

In September 2022, Susie Green co-authored the 8th edition of the standards of care issued by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.[43][44]

The Daily Telegraph investigation edit

In September 2022, Mermaids was the subject of an investigation by The Daily Telegraph, which accused the charity of offering chest binders to transgender youth without parental consent and to have told users they believed to be as young as 13 that hormone-blocking drugs are "totally reversible".[45][46][47][48] The investigation relied largely on an anonymous adult pretending to be a 14-year-old named "Kai" in order to access services from Mermaids.[46] Kai exchanged emails with the charity, during which the charity staff agreed to offer them a chest binder.[46] The Daily Telegraph criticized the charity for not investigating Kai's mental health and for not requiring that Kai inform an adult, despite Kai describing their parents as unaccepting in the email exchanges.[46] Mermaids responded by saying that they take "a harm reduction position with the understanding that providing a young person with a binder and comprehensive safety guidelines from an experienced member of staff is preferable to the likely alternative of unsafe practices and/or continued or increasing dysphoria".[46]

Charity Commission Inquiry edit

On 29 September 2022 the Charity Commission opened a regulatory compliance case into Mermaids, based on complaints made about the charity as a result of The Daily Telegraph's investigation.[49][50] Mermaids subsequently submitted a number of serious incidents reports to the commission in relation to issues raised in the media, and also closed its helpline temporarily due to what it described as "intolerable abuse" received by staff and volunteers.[51] Funding from the National Lottery has been paused during this investigation.[26]

On 2 December 2022 it was announced that the Charity Commission had opened a statutory inquiry on 28 November and that the charity's management and governance were now being looked at.[52][53] This followed the resignation of CEO Susie Green, in November 2022.[53][54]

Resignation of trustee edit

In October 2022, Dr Jacob Breslow of the London School of Economics resigned as a trustee of Mermaids after it was revealed that he had spoken at a conference organised by B4U-ACT, a paedophile support group, as a PhD student in 2011. In a statement, Mermaids described the organisation as "completely at odds" with its values, and said that "Once notified we took swift and decisive action to investigate ... Safeguarding is of the utmost importance to Mermaids and the safety of the young people we support is our highest priority."[55] Belinda Bell, the chair of trustees, apologised for the distress caused by the news of Breslow's links to the group, and said that he should never have been appointed to the board.[56]

On 12 October 2022, Miriam Cates MP used Prime Minister's Questions to ask for a police investigation into Mermaids.[57] In response, the charity said that her "attitudes to LGBT organisations are well-documented and this is not the first time she has criticised Mermaids".[58]

References edit

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  32. ^ a b c Gilligan, Andrew (16 June 2019). "Parents' anger as child sex change charity Mermaids puts private emails online". The Times. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  33. ^ Elliot, DAC Beachcroft-Camilla (27 July 2021). "£25,000 ICO fine is no drop in the ocean for Mermaids". Lexology. from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  34. ^ Thomas, Kim (29 September 2020). "What are the new rules for teaching identity in schools?". The Telegraph. from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021. As the number of children identifying as transgender has increased, schools have consulted trans charities such as Stonewall and Mermaids about how best to approach the topic. These charities have, however, come under criticism by campaigners, including Transgender Trend and Safe Schools Alliance, for reinforcing a rigid belief in gender roles, and for encouraging children who don't conform to gender stereotypes to believe they might be trans....A large number of the organisations providing training and resources to schools on trans issues use non-conformity to gender stereotypes as evidence that a child is transgender. Mermaids, for example, regularly uses a chart showing gender identity on a 12-point spectrum from a Barbie wearing a pink dress to GI Joe in military fatigues.
  35. ^ "Activists Hit Back at The Sunday Times for Transphobic Fear-Mongering". Attitude. 24 December 2018. from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021. The discussion is on how we socially see gender expressions. In psychology, these archetypes are called 'hyper masculinity' and 'hyper femininity' - mermaids have just renamed them to be more accessible. This isn't new or unique to Mermaids. The 'jelly baby' spectrum being used in the lecture is basically a visual representation of gender identifying markers. In academic terms these are 'gender identity', 'gender expression', 'biological sex' and 'sexual orientation'. At no point does anyone suggest children who act in ways that do not conform to a gender are trans. At no point does anyone suggest gay children are trans. In fact, the woman taking the session self identifies as lesbian - and FULLY understands she is not trans.
  36. ^ Gentleman, Amelia (25 November 2022). "Head of trans children charity Mermaids resigns after six years". theguardian.com. Guardian. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
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  39. ^ Gentleman, Amelia (9 September 2022). "Judge to consider trans charity's appeal to strip LGB Alliance of legal status". The Guardian. from the original on 10 September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  40. ^ Gentleman, Amelia (6 July 2023). "Trans charity Mermaids fails to have charitable status stripped from LGB Alliance". Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  41. ^ a b Somerville, Ewan (19 March 2022). "Great Ormond Street cancels trainee doctor conference over trans 'safety' complaints". The Telegraph. from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  42. ^ Hayward, Eleanor (26 March 2022). "Gender event off after trans activists attack 'extreme' views". The Times. from the original on 29 March 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  43. ^ Dixon, Hayley (16 September 2022). "Children as young as nine can be prescribed sex change hormones". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. from the original on 16 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
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  47. ^ Dixon, Hayley (25 September 2022). "Exclusive: Trans charity Mermaids giving breast binders to children behind parents' backs". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  48. ^ Sleator, Laurence (26 September 2022). "Trans charity accused of offering chest binders without parental consent". The Times. from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  49. ^ "Transgender charity Mermaids under investigation". BBC. 29 September 2022. from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  50. ^ "Trans charity Mermaids investigated over 'breast binders given to children'". The Guardian. 30 September 2022. from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
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  53. ^ a b Ellery, Ben; Beal, James (2 December 2022). "Formal inquiry launched into transgender charity Mermaids". The Times. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
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  56. ^ Hargrave, Russell (7 October 2022). "Lottery fund pauses Mermaids payments amid Charity Commission compliance case". Third Sector. from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
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  58. ^ Hargrave, Russell. "Mermaids defends itself after MP calls for police investigation". www.thirdsector.co.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2022.

External links edit

  • Official website

January 01, 1970
mermaids, charity, this, article, lead, section, short, adequately, summarize, points, please, consider, expanding, lead, provide, accessible, overview, important, aspects, article, july, 2022, mermaids, british, charity, advocacy, organisation, that, supports. This article s lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article July 2022 Mermaids is a British charity and advocacy organisation that supports gender variant and transgender youth 1 3 It also provides inclusion and diversity training 4 Mermaids was founded in 1995 by a group of parents of gender nonconforming children 5 and became a charitable incorporated organisation in 2015 6 MermaidsFounded1995 1 TypeNonprofit advocacy organisationRegistration no 1160575PurposeTransgender rightsLocationOffices in London and LeedsCEOLauren StonerRevenue 2020 902 437 2 Expenses 2020 1 041 326 2 Staff 2020 18 employees 7 trustees 31 volunteers 2 Websitemermaidsuk wbr org wbr uk Contents 1 History 1 1 Formation and leadership 1 2 Lobbying the Tavistock Gender Identity Development Service 1 3 Online harassment of staff 1 4 National Lottery funding 1 5 Media 1 6 Data breach 1 7 Training 1 8 Government policy 1 9 Challenge to LGB Alliance charitable status 1 10 Conference at Great Ormond Street Hospital 1 11 Standards of Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse People 1 12 The Daily Telegraph investigation 1 13 Charity Commission Inquiry 1 14 Resignation of trustee 2 References 3 External linksHistory editFormation and leadership edit Mermaids was founded in 1995 by a group of parents of gender nonconforming children originally acting as a small helpline 5 It aims to provide support for transgender youths up to 20 years of age 1 7 Mermaids became a Charitable incorporated organisation in 2015 6 Susie Green was the chief executive from January 2016 until 25 November 2022 when she resigned 8 Previously she worked as an IT manager at the Citizens Advice Bureau in Leeds Green was a trustee of Mermaids for four years from 2011 Her daughter is one of the youngest individuals in the UK to have transitioned surgically 9 10 Lauren Stoner was made interim chief executive in December 2022 11 and was appointed CEO for two years in February 2024 12 In August 2023 it was announced that Belinda Bell would be stepping down as chair of the charity while remaining as a trustee 13 Kathryn Downs who is transgender became chair in February 2024 12 Lobbying the Tavistock Gender Identity Development Service edit In the years from 2000 Mermaids alongside another campaign group GIRES Gender Identity Research and Education Society lobbied clinicians at the NHS Gender Identity Development Service GIDS for early interventions on children 14 After taking her child to Boston Massachusetts in 2007 to receive puberty blockers Susie Green worked to make them available in Britain from GIDS 14 In response GIDS began prescribing blockers from 2011 onwards making them widely available in response to demand from families 14 Clinical psychologist Kirsty Entwistle on the GIDS staff from 2017 said Those who d connected with Mermaids were terrified because they d been told that their child was going to kill themselves if they didn t get blockers 14 GIDS describes suicide as extremely rare 14 In July 2022 NHS England decided to close GIDS and replace it with regional healthcare centres following the publication of the independent Cass Review 15 In response to the decision Mermaids CEO Susie Green was cautiously optimistic but expressed concerns that priority would be given to mental health over medical care 16 She said We would not want any further barriers to be put in place in terms of access to medical intervention 16 Online harassment of staff edit In 2017 Mermaids reported that it and its volunteers had been the victims of online harassment CEO Green stated that she had been falsely accused of forcibly castrating her transgender daughter Jackie Her daughter maintained that If my mum had not helped me I would not be here today and transgender journalist Paris Lees wrote Susie Green is saving lives and I wish my parents had known about Mermaids when I was growing up Green raised concerns that the social media backlash may put people off coming to the charity for help 17 National Lottery funding edit In December 2018 the charity was designated 500 000 in funding by the Big Lottery Fund to create a national network of local groups 18 19 However the funding was put under review after criticism of the charity including by anti trans activist Graham Linehan 20 who created a post on Mumsnet calling for members of the forum to email their concerns to the National Lottery 21 22 In response to this on 18 January 2019 YouTuber Hbomberguy began a livestream attempting to 101 complete the video game Donkey Kong 64 with a goal of 500 to be donated to Mermaids The stream became popular and raised over US 350 000 for Mermaids 23 Among other guests the stream featured an appearance by American politician Alexandria Ocasio Cortez 24 On 19 February 2019 the National Lottery concluded its review into the charity and announced that it would follow through with the promised donation stating that did not find any grounds to withhold the grant 25 However in October 2022 National Lottery funding was paused due to the investigation by the Charity Commission 26 Media edit The 2018 ITV drama series Butterfly about a young transgender girl was substantially informed by Mermaids and its CEO Susie Green a consultant on the series who worked with creator Tony Marchant 27 Marchant and cast members Emmett J Scanlan and Anna Friel also met families involved with Mermaids to inform their creative processes 28 29 In July 2020 the charity complained that the BBC had no longer included links to themselves on BBC LGBT advice pages alongside two other organisations 30 31 The BBC said that Mermaids was removed after complaints were made about the information it provided and for impartiality reasons 31 Data breach edit In June 2019 The Times revealed that they had discovered a data breach by Mermaids in which confidential emails had been made readily available through their website 32 The Times stated that these included names of transgender children and their parents together with contact details and intimate medical information The newspaper reported that there were internal emails from the trustees that criticised the leadership by Susie Green as well as criticism from parents 32 Mermaids issued a press release on the same day which acknowledged that a data breach had occurred and that they had informed the Information Commissioner s Office and had corrected the breach The press release stated that the breach was limited to internal emails and that no emails to and from families were part of the information leaked The Times disputed this 7 32 After an investigation Mermaids were required to pay a 25 000 fine 33 Training edit This section may lend undue weight to certain ideas incidents or controversies Please help to create a more balanced presentation Discuss and resolve this issue before removing this message March 2022 Writing in The Daily Telegraph in September 2020 Kim Thomas said that some pressure groups including Safe Schools Alliance and Transgender Trend have argued that some resources used by Mermaids in training sessions reinforce rigid gender roles and might cause non conforming children to identify as transgender 34 In contrast Attitude quoted Kate Lister who said that the resource is a visual representation of gender identifying markers At no point does anyone suggest children who act in ways that do not conform to a gender are trans At no point does anyone suggest gay children are trans 35 Likewise Mermaids released a statement saying that they have never encouraged teachers to state that tomboys should be transgender and that they do not provide classroom talks or lesson materials for schools contrary to what had been reported in some newspapers 4 Following the commencement of the regulatory compliance case by the Charity Commission in 2022 the Department for Education has removed Mermaids from its mental health and wellbeing resources for schools 36 Government policy edit This section needs expansion You can help by adding to it October 2021 The charity criticised the UK Government s April 2021 decision to disband the LGBT advisory board without a planned replacement describing the move as very concerning 37 Challenge to LGB Alliance charitable status edit Main article LGB Alliance Challenge to charitable status In June 2021 Mermaids along with other charities including Stonewall began raising funds to appeal the awarding of charitable status to LGB Alliance describing the latter group s activities as denigrating trans people 38 The case began in September 2022 39 and ruled in July 2023 The judges determined that the law does not permit Mermaids to challenge the decision made by the Charity Commission to register LGB Alliance as a charity 40 Conference at Great Ormond Street Hospital edit In March 2022 Susie Green was due to speak on a panel regarding support for transgender youth alongside Stephanie Davies Arai of Transgender Trend a gender critical website The panel would have been part of an event eventually postponed for an expected 100 to 150 trainee child psychiatrists organised by Great Ormond Street Hospital and Health Education England 41 Paediatrician Hilary Cass journalist Helen Joyce psychotherapist Stella O Malley and academic Lisa Littman would also have participated 42 Following complaints to the organisers by Mermaids and a trainee doctor Davies Arai s appearance was cancelled Susie Green said that Mermaids cannot be a part of a conference that gives a platform to Transgender Trend and advised the organisers to stay clear of anyone involved with anti trans pseudo medical platforms that have been set up with the sole intention of attacking trans people especially trans youth and their healthcare Davies Arai said that it should concern everyone that the NHS has allowed unsubstantiated claims of transphobia to influence their decisions 41 Standards of Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse People edit In September 2022 Susie Green co authored the 8th edition of the standards of care issued by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health 43 44 The Daily Telegraph investigation edit In September 2022 Mermaids was the subject of an investigation by The Daily Telegraph which accused the charity of offering chest binders to transgender youth without parental consent and to have told users they believed to be as young as 13 that hormone blocking drugs are totally reversible 45 46 47 48 The investigation relied largely on an anonymous adult pretending to be a 14 year old named Kai in order to access services from Mermaids 46 Kai exchanged emails with the charity during which the charity staff agreed to offer them a chest binder 46 The Daily Telegraph criticized the charity for not investigating Kai s mental health and for not requiring that Kai inform an adult despite Kai describing their parents as unaccepting in the email exchanges 46 Mermaids responded by saying that they take a harm reduction position with the understanding that providing a young person with a binder and comprehensive safety guidelines from an experienced member of staff is preferable to the likely alternative of unsafe practices and or continued or increasing dysphoria 46 Charity Commission Inquiry edit On 29 September 2022 the Charity Commission opened a regulatory compliance case into Mermaids based on complaints made about the charity as a result of The Daily Telegraph s investigation 49 50 Mermaids subsequently submitted a number of serious incidents reports to the commission in relation to issues raised in the media and also closed its helpline temporarily due to what it described as intolerable abuse received by staff and volunteers 51 Funding from the National Lottery has been paused during this investigation 26 On 2 December 2022 it was announced that the Charity Commission had opened a statutory inquiry on 28 November and that the charity s management and governance were now being looked at 52 53 This followed the resignation of CEO Susie Green in November 2022 53 54 Resignation of trustee edit In October 2022 Dr Jacob Breslow of the London School of Economics resigned as a trustee of Mermaids after it was revealed that he had spoken at a conference organised by B4U ACT a paedophile support group as a PhD student in 2011 In a statement Mermaids described the organisation as completely at odds with its values and said that Once notified we took swift and decisive action to investigate Safeguarding is of the utmost importance to Mermaids and the safety of the young people we support is our highest priority 55 Belinda Bell the chair of trustees apologised for the distress caused by the news of Breslow s links to the group and said that he should never have been appointed to the board 56 On 12 October 2022 Miriam Cates MP used Prime Minister s Questions to ask for a police investigation into Mermaids 57 In response the charity said that her attitudes to LGBT organisations are well documented and this is not the first time she has criticised Mermaids 58 References edit a b c About Us Archived from the original on 21 January 2019 Retrieved 21 January 2019 a b c Charity Details Charity Commission for England and Wales Archived from the original on 2 June 2021 Retrieved 9 January 2021 Mermaids National Birmingham LGBT Archived from the original on 21 January 2019 Retrieved 21 January 2019 a b Statement in response to coverage of DfE guidance in the Mail on Sunday Mermaids 26 September 2020 Archived from the original on 15 September 2021 Retrieved 12 August 2021 a b Pictures of me as the Child Catcher were posted online www thirdsector co uk 21 May 2019 Archived from the original on 18 June 2022 Retrieved 12 August 2021 a b MERMAIDS Charity 1160575 register of charities charitycommission gov uk Charity Commission for England and Wales Archived from the original on 16 April 2021 Retrieved 16 April 2021 a b Trans charity Mermaids UK deeply sorry for data breach BBC News 16 June 2019 Archived from the original on 16 June 2019 Retrieved 16 June 2019 CEO of trans youth charity Mermaids leaves after six years 25 November 2022 Dixon Hayley 25 September 2022 Exclusive Trans charity Mermaids giving breast binders to children behind parents backs The Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Archived from the original on 26 September 2022 Retrieved 27 September 2022 Hill Amelia 20 March 2019 Mother drops action against woman who said she mutilated trans daughter The Guardian Archived from the original on 13 October 2022 Retrieved 27 September 2022 Whitehead Harriet 13 December 2022 Mermaids new interim CEO pledges to tackle root causes of our challenges Civil Society Retrieved 13 December 2022 a b Whitehead Harriet 9 February 2024 Mermaids appoints Lauren Stoner as CEO on two year basis civilsociety co uk Civil Society Retrieved 19 March 2024 Preston Rob 31 August 2023 Mermaids chair to step down amid hostile external environment civilsociety co uk Civil Society Media Ltd Retrieved 12 September 2023 a b c d e Turner Janice 17 June 2022 What went wrong at the Tavistock clinic for trans teenagers The Times Archived from the original on 18 June 2022 Retrieved 18 June 2022 NHS to close Tavistock child gender identity clinic BBC News 28 July 2022 Archived from the original on 28 July 2022 Retrieved 28 July 2022 a b Ghorayshi Azeen 28 July 2022 England Overhauls Medical Care for Transgender Youth New York Times Archived from the original on 10 August 2022 Retrieved 10 August 2022 Marsh Sarah 27 August 2017 Police investigate online abuse against charity for transgender children The Guardian Archived from the original on 16 June 2020 Retrieved 21 June 2020 Cooney Rebecca BLF to review 500k grant to transgender children s charity Mermaids Third Sector Archived from the original on 12 September 2019 Retrieved 21 January 2019 Gilligan Andrew 16 December 2018 Child sex change charity Mermaids handed 500 000 by national lottery The Sunday Times Retrieved 13 October 2022 NSW Liberal candidate likens anti trans activism to opposing the Holocaust The Guardian 14 April 2022 Archived from the original on 5 May 2022 Retrieved 5 May 2022 Appearing alongside British television writer and anti trans activist Graham Linehan last year Massive shame as Big Lottery Fund announces review of 500 000 funding grant to Leeds Mermaids UK transgender support charity Yorkshire Evening Post Archived from the original on 19 December 2018 Retrieved 21 January 2019 Funding row charity s Donkey Kong boost BBC News 22 January 2019 Archived from the original on 22 August 2020 Retrieved 6 May 2020 Wells Adam 21 January 2019 Marathon Donkey Kong Stream Raises Over 350 000 For Transgender Charity Kotaku Archived from the original on 22 January 2019 Retrieved 22 January 2019 Greenwald Will 21 January 2019 Ocasio Cortez drops in on Donkey Kong 64 Twitch stream PC Mag Archived from the original on 17 February 2019 Retrieved 18 February 2019 Mohdin Aamna 19 February 2019 National Lottery to give grant to transgender children s group The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Archived from the original on 19 February 2019 Retrieved 20 February 2019 a b Bannerman Lucy 6 October 2022 Lottery pauses cash for trans charity Mermaids during investigation The Times Archived from the original on 5 October 2022 Retrieved 5 October 2022 Mum of Leeds transgender woman who inspired ITV s Butterfly opens up about daughter s suicide attempts after bullying Yorkshire Evening Post 25 October 2018 Archived from the original on 1 June 2021 Retrieved 25 September 2020 Percival Ash 14 October 2018 Butterfly Writer Tony Marchant On Changing Attitudes To Transgender Children And The Importance Of Trans Representation On Screen HuffPost Archived from the original on 6 December 2018 Retrieved 5 December 2018 Harrison Ellie 28 October 2018 Paris Lees Butterfly is the best thing to happen to the trans community for years Radio Times Archived from the original on 6 December 2018 Retrieved 5 December 2018 A joint complaint to the BBC on behalf of UK LGBTQ organisations Mermaids 31 July 2020 Archived from the original on 27 September 2020 Retrieved 11 September 2020 a b Brown David 30 July 2020 Mermaids and other trans groups dropped by BBC Advice Line service The Times Archived from the original on 15 September 2020 Retrieved 12 September 2020 a b c Gilligan Andrew 16 June 2019 Parents anger as child sex change charity Mermaids puts private emails online The Times Archived from the original on 16 June 2019 Retrieved 22 June 2020 Elliot DAC Beachcroft Camilla 27 July 2021 25 000 ICO fine is no drop in the ocean for Mermaids Lexology Archived from the original on 12 August 2021 Retrieved 12 August 2021 Thomas Kim 29 September 2020 What are the new rules for teaching identity in schools The Telegraph Archived from the original on 28 July 2021 Retrieved 28 July 2021 As the number of children identifying as transgender has increased schools have consulted trans charities such as Stonewall and Mermaids about how best to approach the topic These charities have however come under criticism by campaigners including Transgender Trend and Safe Schools Alliance for reinforcing a rigid belief in gender roles and for encouraging children who don t conform to gender stereotypes to believe they might be trans A large number of the organisations providing training and resources to schools on trans issues use non conformity to gender stereotypes as evidence that a child is transgender Mermaids for example regularly uses a chart showing gender identity on a 12 point spectrum from a Barbie wearing a pink dress to GI Joe in military fatigues Activists Hit Back at The Sunday Times for Transphobic Fear Mongering Attitude 24 December 2018 Archived from the original on 18 July 2021 Retrieved 18 July 2021 The discussion is on how we socially see gender expressions In psychology these archetypes are called hyper masculinity and hyper femininity mermaids have just renamed them to be more accessible This isn t new or unique to Mermaids The jelly baby spectrum being used in the lecture is basically a visual representation of gender identifying markers In academic terms these are gender identity gender expression biological sex and sexual orientation At no point does anyone suggest children who act in ways that do not conform to a gender are trans At no point does anyone suggest gay children are trans In fact the woman taking the session self identifies as lesbian and FULLY understands she is not trans Gentleman Amelia 25 November 2022 Head of trans children charity Mermaids resigns after six years theguardian com Guardian Retrieved 2 December 2022 Youth campaigners hit out at decision to disband government LGBT panel CYP Now Archived from the original on 12 August 2021 Retrieved 12 August 2021 Ames Jonathan Baksi Catherine 2 June 2021 Transgender legal battle Stonewall backs Mermaids against LGB Alliance The Times Archived from the original on 8 February 2022 Retrieved 20 March 2022 Gentleman Amelia 9 September 2022 Judge to consider trans charity s appeal to strip LGB Alliance of legal status The Guardian Archived from the original on 10 September 2022 Retrieved 10 September 2022 Gentleman Amelia 6 July 2023 Trans charity Mermaids fails to have charitable status stripped from LGB Alliance Retrieved 6 July 2023 a b Somerville Ewan 19 March 2022 Great Ormond Street cancels trainee doctor conference over trans safety complaints The Telegraph Archived from the original on 19 March 2022 Retrieved 20 March 2022 Hayward Eleanor 26 March 2022 Gender event off after trans activists attack extreme views The Times Archived from the original on 29 March 2022 Retrieved 29 March 2022 Dixon Hayley 16 September 2022 Children as young as nine can be prescribed sex change hormones The Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Archived from the original on 16 September 2022 Retrieved 17 September 2022 Coleman E Radix A E Bouman W P Brown G R de Vries A L C Deutsch M B Ettner R Fraser L Goodman M Green J Hancock A B Johnson T W Karasic D H Knudson G A Leibowitz S F 19 August 2022 Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People Version 8 International Journal of Transgender Health 23 sup1 S1 S259 doi 10 1080 26895269 2022 2100644 ISSN 2689 5269 PMC 9553112 PMID 36238954 S2CID 252127302 Archived from the original on 13 October 2022 Retrieved 17 September 2022 Bolton Will 6 October 2022 Celebrity supporters of controversial trans charity Mermaids gave it unprecedented influence The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on 10 October 2022 Retrieved 13 October 2022 a b c d e Wakefield Lily 26 September 2022 Mermaids responds to The Telegraph investigation amid breast binder row PinkNews Archived from the original on 26 September 2022 Retrieved 27 September 2022 Dixon Hayley 25 September 2022 Exclusive Trans charity Mermaids giving breast binders to children behind parents backs The Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Archived from the original on 25 September 2022 Retrieved 25 September 2022 Sleator Laurence 26 September 2022 Trans charity accused of offering chest binders without parental consent The Times Archived from the original on 26 September 2022 Retrieved 26 September 2022 Transgender charity Mermaids under investigation BBC 29 September 2022 Archived from the original on 30 September 2022 Retrieved 1 October 2022 Trans charity Mermaids investigated over breast binders given to children The Guardian 30 September 2022 Archived from the original on 13 October 2022 Retrieved 1 October 2022 Whitehead Harriet 7 October 2022 Mermaids charity files serious incident report with the Charity Commission Civil Society Archived from the original on 7 October 2022 Retrieved 8 October 2022 Regulator announces statutory inquiry into Mermaids a b Ellery Ben Beal James 2 December 2022 Formal inquiry launched into transgender charity Mermaids The Times Retrieved 2 December 2022 Mermaids Commission opens inquiry into transgender charity bbc co uk BBC 2 December 2022 Retrieved 2 December 2022 Mermaids trustee quits over paedophile group links BBC News Online 4 October 2022 Archived from the original on 11 October 2022 Retrieved 5 October 2022 Hargrave Russell 7 October 2022 Lottery fund pauses Mermaids payments amid Charity Commission compliance case Third Sector Archived from the original on 7 October 2022 Retrieved 12 October 2022 Baska Maggie 12 October 2022 Liz Truss says allegations against trans youth charity Mermaids should be properly looked at PinkNews Archived from the original on 12 October 2022 Retrieved 12 October 2022 Hargrave Russell Mermaids defends itself after MP calls for police investigation www thirdsector co uk Retrieved 13 October 2022 External links editOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mermaids charity amp oldid 1218589165, wikipedia, 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