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Mermaids Press

NHS England has today (12 March 2024) announced that from 1 April they will no longer routinely prescribe puberty blockers. They will be available in the future, but only through a mandatory research trial. This announcement is deeply disappointing, and a further restriction of support offered to trans children and young people through the NHS, which is failing trans youth. There were virtually no first appointments offered in 2023, with ever-growing waiting lists of over five years. Those currently prescribed puberty blockers won’t see any changes to their treatment, and this is a pause on prescribing – not a ban. It’s also…

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Mermaids Press

Lauren Stoner has been appointed permanent CEO of Mermaids on a two-year fixed term basis.  An experienced charity professional with a background in health and social care, Lauren (she/her) joined the charity as Interim CEO in December 2022 and has successfully steered the organisation through challenging times. Her leadership will see us into our 30th anniversary year in 2025.  On Lauren’s appointment, incoming Chair of Trustees Kathryn Downs (she/her) said: “Lauren has demonstrated impressive leadership, implemented new working practices and, in particular, begun the crucial process of improving the culture at Mermaids. “Her leadership on EDI matters has been strong…

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Mermaids Press

Rishi Sunak’s shameful and heartless comment today (Wednesday 7 February) at Prime Minister’s Questions demonstrates just how little his Government thinks of trans young people and the important people in their lives.  Words spoken in Parliament have real-world consequences for people like the late Brianna Ghey, and so to have made a joke like this, in front of her mother who was invited there, is just downright cruel.  Trans young people need their politicians to build supportive school environments, to fix our broken NHS and to protect them from violence. They are tired of being spoken about, rather than listened…

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Mermaids Press

Content Note: these proposals are upsetting and scary for our community, particularly those with lived experience of transphobia in school. Please take care when reading.  The Government is consulting on its proposed trans guidance for schools and colleges in England, closing on Tuesday 12 March.  All young people deserve an accepting and supportive school environment to learn and be their authentic selves. Not only would this guidance make schools unsafe for trans children and young people, it actively seeks to deny their existence. At no point does the guidance offer any advice on how to include and support trans young…

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Mermaids Press

We know that many of you may be feeling anxious or upset by the UK Government’s absurd draft schools’ guidance published this week. You are not alone in this feeling, and we want to reassure and remind you: The guidance is only a draft and will be out for consultation until March 2024 In the New Year, we will do everything in our power to make sure any final guidance is supportive of trans children and young people. We’ll also share with you ways that you can get involved in making change. All trans students deserve to be accepted and supported;…

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Mermaids Press

All young people deserve an accepting and supportive school environment to learn and be their authentic selves. The UK Government’s draft trans guidance for schools in England seeks to prevent that. Its approach is unworkable, out of touch and absurd.  Rather than listening to trans young people and reflecting best practice of inclusive educators across the UK, the Government has created more confusion for schools and is putting young people at risk. It is difficult to understand how aspects of this draft guidance, including automatically excluding trans pupils from facilities, sport bans or allowing students to be misgendered are compatible…

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Mermaids Press

Cameron (they/them) reflects on their second Family Day as a volunteer with Mermaids. It’s the night before my second Mermaids’ Family Day. I am sitting snug on a couch with a cup of tea and some trifle, watching the Barbie movie with another Mermaids volunteer, her partner and their dogs. It seems unthinkable at this point that I had only met these people for the first time just a few hours earlier. It felt like I was reconnecting with some old friends, or that despite never having actually met before, we had always been connected in some way.  This feeling…

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Mermaids Press

Johanna (she/her) reflects on how a quiet act of allyship from her favourite teacher made a world of difference to her while she was closeted at school. Quiet support at school made a world of difference to me as a closeted trans teenager. I was 17, aware that I was not cisgender, and absolutely terrified. Although I felt unable to truly come out, I still experimented with my gender expression, namely by maintaining long hair and painted nails. In my sixth and final year of high school I took Advanced Higher Drama and began to show a keen interest in…

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Mermaids Press

NHS England is proposing that puberty blockers only be available to trans youth through a mandatory, long-term research study – and only to a small group of people. They have put this idea out for consultation, meaning that the public (you!) can provide feedback. This is a window in which change is possible, but only with public pressure. Access to healthcare is a basic right. Healthcare for trans children and young people in England is already extremely limited, with a 5+ year wait list and appointments virtually at a standstill this year. This is why we need to act now….

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Mermaids Press

On 25 November 2022 we announced that Susie Green had left Mermaids. Following this, various media outlets reported that Susie has resigned from the organisation due to issues in relation to her leadership of the organisation. This was not correct and this false speculation has been upsetting to Susie, who has been involved with Mermaids for many years. We regret that we did not address this speculation at the time and are sorry for any negative impact this reporting has had on Susie and her family. Throughout her time with the organisation Susie has shown hard work, passion and commitment…

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