Mermaids_(charity)

Mermaids (charity)

Mermaids (charity)

British charity that supports transgender youth

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]

Quick Facts Founded, Type ...

History

Formation and leadership

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  1. [1]
    "About Us". Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  2. [2]
    "Charity Details". Charity Commission for England and Wales. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  3. [3]
    "Mermaids (National)". Birmingham LGBT. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  4. [4]
    "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.
  5. [5]
    "'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.
  6. [6]
    "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.
  7. [7]
    "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.
  8. [8]
    "CEO of trans youth charity Mermaids leaves after six years". 25 November 2022.
  9. [9]
    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.
  10. [10]
    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.
  11. [11]
    Whitehead, Harriet (13 December 2022). "Mermaids' new interim CEO pledges to tackle 'root causes of our challenges'". Civil Society. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  12. [12]
    Whitehead, Harriet (9 February 2024). "Mermaids appoints Lauren Stoner as CEO on two-year basis". civilsociety.co.uk. Civil Society. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  13. [13]
    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.
  14. [14]
    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.
  15. [15]
    "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.
  16. [16]
    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.
  17. [17]
    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.
  18. [18]
    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.
  19. [19]
    Gilligan, Andrew (16 December 2018). "Child sex-change charity Mermaids handed £500,000 by national lottery". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  20. [20]
    "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...
  21. [21]
    "'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.
  22. [22]
    "Funding row charity's Donkey Kong boost". BBC News. 22 January 2019. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  23. [23]
    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.
  24. [24]
    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.
  25. [25]
    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.
  26. [26]
    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.
  27. [27]
    "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.
  28. [28]
    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.
  29. [29]
    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.
  30. [30]
    "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.
  31. [31]
    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.
  32. [32]
    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. [33]
    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.
  34. [34]
    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.
  35. [35]
    "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.
  36. [36]
    Gentleman, Amelia (25 November 2022). "Head of trans children charity Mermaids resigns after six years". theguardian.com. Guardian. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  37. [37]
    "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.
  38. [38]
    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.
  39. [39]
    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.
  40. [40]
    Gentleman, Amelia (6 July 2023). "Trans charity Mermaids fails to have charitable status stripped from LGB Alliance". Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  41. [41]
    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.
  42. [42]
    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.
  43. [43]
    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.
  44. [44]
    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.
  45. [45]
    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.
  46. [46]
    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.
  47. [47]
    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.
  48. [48]
    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.
  49. [49]
    "Transgender charity Mermaids under investigation". BBC. 29 September 2022. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  50. [50]
    "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.
  51. [51]
    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.
  52. [52]
    "Regulator announces statutory inquiry into Mermaids".
  53. [53]
    Ellery, Ben; Beal, James (2 December 2022). "Formal inquiry launched into transgender charity Mermaids". The Times. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  54. [54]
    "Mermaids: Commission opens inquiry into transgender charity". bbc.co.uk. BBC. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  55. [55]
    "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.
  56. [56]
    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.
  57. [57]
    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.
  58. [58]
    Hargrave, Russell. "Mermaids defends itself after MP calls for police investigation". www.thirdsector.co.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Mermaids_(charity), and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.