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Mermaids Press

Statement in response to Conservative Party conference

In the last week, senior Conservatives, including the Prime Minister, have used their Party Conference to distract from the real social, economic and environmental issues faced by everyone in the UK by repeatedly sharing transphobic rhetoric and undermining the existence and rights of the trans community. Nothing that has been said is a change to the law, or to the rights of our community, but these statements further legitimise the harassment which many trans young people and their families experience every day in the media, at home, at work, school and online. Trans young people and their families are asking…

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Mermaids Press

Goodbye Twitter, hello TikTok

At Mermaids, we are committed to using our social media platforms to support our charitable aims to embrace and empower trans young people and their families, and educate the wider public on the issues they face. We believe that as a platform, X, formerly known as Twitter, no longer supports these aims.  For some time now, it has been clear that our values as an organisation are at odds with X, as the platform’s guidelines and company ethics do not encourage a safe, healthy or inclusive environment for our community to engage with us in. For these reasons, we have…

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Mermaids Press

Changes to the UK equalities’ watchdog technical guidance for schools: What it means for trans young people

Mermaids’ Policy team looks at recent changes to the EHRC’s technical guidance for how schools should implement the Equality Act, and what it might mean for trans youth. What have the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said? The EHRC have recently made changes to their technical guidance for how schools in England should implement the Equality Act 2010.  Robin Moira White, a barrister specialising in discrimination, has disputed its interpretation of existing equalities law.  It is important to note that the law has not changed, nor is this the long-awaited trans schools guidance promised by the UK Government. In…

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Mermaids Press

Mermaids Governance Review by NCVO

Mermaids has been supporting transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse young people to survive and thrive since 1995 and has been a registered charity since 2015. We’ve experienced significant growth and change in that time, and in 2022-23 our income exceeded £2,000,000 for the first time, while we supported over 10,000 individuals.  Given this growth, and following our report into equity, diversity and inclusion, which highlighted significant concerns about governance and leadership at Mermaids, the trustees decided to commission a comprehensive, independent review of our governance. We knew that doing so would invite ever more scrutiny into our organisation at an already…

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Mermaids Press

Statement on the ruling in Mermaids v Charity Commission and LGB Alliance

In June 2021, Mermaids, supported by a coalition of LGBT+ organisations, appealed the decision by the Charity Commission to register LGB Alliance (LGBA) as a charity. We argued that LGBA shouldn’t be recognised as a charity because it was focused on hostile anti-trans activism and not (as it claimed) on the promotion of lesbian, gay and bisexual rights.  The hearing took place over seven days in September and November 2022, and the Tribunal handed down its decision on Thursday 6 July 2023. Their decision is that Mermaids doesn’t have legal standing to bring the appeal. Standing in this context is…

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Mermaids Press

A day with the UN’s Independent Expert on SOGI

Elijah, a member of Mermaids’ Youth Advisory Panel, had the opportunity to give evidence to Mr Victor Madrigal Borloz, the United Nations’ Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), during his visit to the UK.  Victor Madrigal-Borloz visited the UK to listen to a range of stakeholders, including Mermaids, as part of his report into the human rights of LGBT+ people in the UK.  Now that the Independent Expert’s end of mission statement (TW: references to suicide) is released, Elijah recounts his experience and what the day signified for him personally. As…

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Mermaids Press

Exploring your trans future

Mermaids’ Youth Advocacy Manager Lee and members of our Youth Advisory Panel look back on TRANS(CEND), a day of positivity, inspiration and joy In March this year, 34 young trans people arrived in Sheffield to take part in our event TRANS(CEND), an interactive day aimed at trans young people aged 16-19.  The theme of the day was “exploring your trans future” with the main objective being to advise and inspire trans youth regarding their futures, whether that be employment, education or other life choices.  The day started bright and early with registration at 9.30am. Young people had travelled from as…

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Mermaids Press

Trans youth call for UK Government to step up on LGBTQIA+ rights at the United Nations

A member of Mermaids’ Youth Advisory Panel recently spoke at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council on the UK Government’s LGBTQIA+ rights record. What’s happened and why does it matter? Every four to five years, each UN Member State undergoes a review of their human rights record with other countries presenting their recommendations to the UK this year. The recommendations to the UK Government on LGBTQIA+ issues grew fivefold – especially on trans healthcare, legal recognition and banning conversion therapy.  What did Mermaids do? Mermaids and Stonewall submitted evidence on the UK Government’s LGBTQIA+ rights record and presented our…

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Mermaids Press

Levi’s story: How I am challenging the lack of trans representation on screen

Levi, a young trans person, on why telling our stories is more important than ever I always knew that I wanted to make a film about being trans, since I came out almost six years ago.  My love for documentaries started when I was 12 years old. I sat in front of my TV and turned on a short programme called I am Leo. Unknowingly, this documentary about a trans boy seeking hormone blockers helped me realise that there was something beyond a “tomboy.” It was the first time that I related to somebody, and ever since viewing that show,…

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Mermaids Press

Statement on EDI at Mermaids

In 2022, Mermaids decided to carry out a frank and honest appraisal of our internal culture and how we measure up in terms of equity, diversity and inclusion and to understand oppression which our staff experienced. We thank our staff for their honesty and bravery throughout this process. An independent external report which we commissioned has highlighted a number of significant challenges for us. Today we are sharing the recommendations from this report and the next steps which the team are already taking.  We know we must do better and we are absolutely committed to doing so, and are implementing…

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