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Mermaids Press

Two years on from the Bell v Tavistock judgement, Mermaids has produced a report reflecting on its impact for trans young people and their families In October 2019, a judicial review (or complaint) was made in the UK on whether people under 18 years of age could consent to puberty blockers (‘Bell v Tavistock’) and on 1 December 2020, the court ruled in Bell’s favour. Immediately NHS England froze access to new puberty blocker prescriptions, leaving young people in limbo.  Two years on from that judgement, the impact continues to be felt, highlighted in a new report, published today (1…

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Mermaids Press

A paediatric doctor and parent of a trans child shares her view on the future of healthcare for gender diverse young people in England. I have been a paediatric doctor for 10 years. I also have a primary-school age transgender child. When my child first raised questions about their gender identity (“Mum, how do people know if they are a girl or a boy? Because I think I’m a boy”) I went looking for evidence to help me decide how to respond.  After about six months of being supportive and non-judgemental while they continued to express their questions, my child…

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Mermaids Press

Two young trans people share their views on proposed changes to NHS healthcare services for trans and gender-diverse young people in England We continue our series of blogs from our communities on the impact of the proposed guidelines with two young trans people, Jamie and Elijah, who have shared their views on the specification.  The consultation on the proposed guidelines runs until 4 December 2022, and we have produced guidance on the consultation to help you respond.  Jamie: “Social transition – it’s a lifesaver” Social transition saved me as a teenager. To some, it may seem unbelievable how such simple…

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Mermaids Press

Mermaids CEO Susie Green has left the charity after six years in charge. Chair of Trustees Belinda Bell said: “The Trustees are very grateful to Susie for everything she has done over the last six years to support trans, non-binary and gender-diverse young people and their families, and to build Mermaids into the organisation it is today. “We wish her all the best for the future.” An interim CEO will be appointed shortly. 

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Mermaids Press

“It sounds like they are trying to stop trans youth existing” This month, we published a blog summarising some of the proposed changes to the NHS healthcare services for young trans and gender-diverse people in England.  The new guidelines were met with anger and frustration by the young people and families we support, with those on our helplines and forums expressing deep concern about the implications to their future wellbeing.  In response, we held two online engagement sessions, one for trans and gender-diverse young people, and one for parents to listen to their views.  What struck us most was the…

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Mermaids Press

NHS England has launched a consultation running from 20 October to 4 December on how the future youth gender services should run in the new clinics opening in Spring 2023.   We have significant concerns about these proposals, which you can read about in our explainer blog, and in collaboration with Stonewall, Gendered Intelligence and Trans Learning Partnership, have now published guidance to help with your response. The guidance takes you through the questions as they are on the response form, with key issues you may wish to raise in bullet points. We’ve also highlighted relevant research, as well as differences between this…

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Mermaids Press

We were back in court today for the final day of the hearing of Mermaids versus the Charity Commission regarding the charitable status of LGB Alliance.  The day began with submissions from Karon Monaghan KC, representing LGBA. She addressed the charitable objects of LGBA as set out in its Articles of Association, which she argued were “clear and unambiguous”, suggesting that there was no need to look beyond the words on the page. She argued that LGBA is involved in a lot of work that has nothing to do with trans rights and that while the group engages in political…

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Mermaids Press

Today was the first day of our resumed hearing in the case of Mermaids vs Charity Commission, and we began with submissions from Michael Gibbon KC on behalf of Mermaids. He submitted that LGBA is, in the words of co-founder Bev Jackson, “an organisation to challenge the dominance of those promoting the damaging theory of gender identity”. Mr Gibbon also outlined Mermaids’ standing to bring the case. We then moved on to submissions from Iain Steele, representing the Charity Commission. Mr Steele made submissions on the relevant law, and suggested that the standing test should be applied narrowly. We’ll be…

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Mermaids Press

A content note: these proposals may make for heavy reading for those accessing, or hoping to access, children and young people’s gender services in England. Take care while reading. NHS England has launched a consultation running from 20 October to 4 December on how the future gender services should run in the new clinics opening in Spring 2023.   Mermaids has significant concerns about these proposals, which will likely add more barriers to accessing care. They suggest that young people should be prevented from exploring social transition (e.g changing name or pronouns) unless diagnosed with “clinically significant distress”, and that young…

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Mermaids Press

Mermaids’ Luan meets writer Ezra Woodger to talk about his new book, To Be A Trans Man  Ezra Woodger’s To Be A Trans Man was published earlier this month.  It is a refreshing exploration of trans men’s lives that asks, what is masculinity and how do trans men and trans masculine people experience and express their masculinity.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by ezra john (@theezrajohn) In the book, Ezra talks to eight trans contributors who share their views on masculinity and enter detailed discussion on a range of topics such as their experiences growing up.  There…

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