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Mermaids Press

Statement in response to the High Court ruling on the puberty blocker ban

We are incredibly disappointed by yesterday’s High Court judgement to uphold the decision to restrict the prescription of puberty blockers for trans young people.  The ban, which was brought into place under the previous Conservative Health Secretary, will expire on 2 September 2024 and there must be a consultation process if the Government wishes to make it permanent. We strongly believe that the Health Secretary must now listen to trans young people. This includes recognising the harm that outright bans have, and continue to cause, and making sure harm reduction measures are in place to support the children and young…

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Mermaids Press

Statement on General Election result

Our Trans Youth Manifesto, which we published in June, outlines what young people need from their elected representatives, and their message is clear: they want to feel safe, welcome and protected, and to live in a world where they are celebrated, not debated.  We hope the new Prime Minister will be true to his word, treating trans people with dignity and respect, and call on his new government to centre the needs and voices of trans young people in conversations that affect them.  We will do all we can to make sure the voices of young people are heard in…

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Mermaids Press

The new restrictions on puberty blockers in the UK: A Mermaids Explainer

On 29 May 2024, the Government introduced two pieces of regulation which restrict how trans children and young people under 18 years old can access some medications (GnRH analogues) which delay the effects of puberty as a result of a diagnosis of gender incongruence or gender dysphoria. These medicines consist of or contain buserelin, gonadorelin, goserelin, leuprorelin acetate, nafarelin or triptorelin. We will call these GnRH analogues throughout this information to prevent confusion with other medications.  This legislation applies in England, Wales and Scotland.  Following the Government’s announcement, NHS England wrote to the parents and guardians of all young people…

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Mermaids Press

Sector statement on the Equality Act

The Equality Act is world-class legislation that took almost a decade to develop, and has been working well for 14 years. Under the Act, trans people can legally access single-sex services based on their gender, and services can exclude trans people, whether or not they hold a Gender Recognition Certificate, if it is a proportionate thing to do to achieve a legitimate aim. We believe the thresholds that the Equality Act sets are a proportionate bar for services to address if they are to use these single sex exemptions. Violence affecting women and girls is a significant concern, including for…

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Mermaids Press

Sector statement on Emergency Prohibition of Puberty Suppressing Hormones

As organisations that provide support to our LGBTQ+ community, we are extremely disappointed at the introduction of emergency legislation to ban the prescription of puberty-suppressing hormones (also known as GnRH analogues) in England, Wales and Scotland. This legislation has been drafted and will be implemented from 3 June 2024 without a full impact assessment, and we are already seeing the harm and distress this is causing amongst trans young people and their families.  We are reviewing the legislation with experts to understand the implications and will provide factual information for those affected once we have it. We recommend that any child…

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Mermaids Press

Joint statement with trans and LGBTQ+ organisations on proposed changes to NHS Constitution

Everyone deserves timely access to holistic, high-quality healthcare and to be treated with dignity, privacy and respect throughout their treatment and care.  This includes trans, non-binary and intersex people who already face significant barriers and inequality when accessing NHS care.The consultation closes on 25th June 2024, and will inform changes to the NHS Constitution that will be in place until 2035.  We have concerns about some of the changes proposed, particularly those likely to impact trans patients and healthcare professionals.  In the meantime, we’d like to remind everyone that these proposals are under consultation, and will not change how NHS…

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Mermaids Press

Mermaids’ response to The Cass Review – In Depth

Trans children, young people and their families have been faced with hateful narrative and misformation since the publication of The Cass Review on 10 April 2024.  Media organisations and elected representatives hostile to trans youth have sought to misrepresent the report’s findings and call into question the validity of their experiences, and we are deeply disappointed, although not surprised, that Dr Cass’ own calls for compassion and respect have been completely disregarded.  As a charity supporting trans youth and their families, our focus these past few weeks has been on reassuring those worried by the content of the report as…

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Mermaids Press

Statement in response to social media activity by the Charity Commission

On Thursday 11 April, we were made aware that the Charity Commission has allegedly liked and reposted gender-critical content on its official X account, including potentially defamatory content about Mermaids.  In response to an email from us, the Commission confirmed that this appears to have been accidental activity during monitoring. We recognise that accidents do happen, however vigilance is required to ensure that these are addressed as soon as possible. As a public body, the Commission must appear to be scrupulously independent and unbiased across its work, including its activity on social media, and it is disappointing that it has…

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Mermaids Press

The Cass Review: Mermaids’ response

Everyone deserves access to timely, supportive and holistic healthcare. However, across all of the UK, the NHS is failing trans youth, with appalling waiting lists of more than six years, virtually no first appointments offered for over a year, and increased politicisation of the support offered to children and young people.  Trans youth tell us they want services which are accepting and respectful, which offer supportive spaces to explore their gender, and provide access to medical transition if and when they need it.  The Cass Review, an independent review of NHS England gender services for children and young people, published…

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Mermaids Press

The Cass Review: What Was It and What Does It Mean?

What is the Cass Review? In 2020, NHS England launched an independent review of children and young people’s gender services in England, led by Dr Hilary Cass. The review had a massive scope, including: They also commissioned a set of research from the University of York. Mermaids has regularly engaged with Dr Cass, most importantly through platforming trans children and young people’s views directly to the team through a series of focus groups. We have, however, been disappointed with the review’s consistent engagement with groups who deny the existence and legitimacy of trans youth. What did the Interim Report say?…

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