Speak to a trained member of the Mermaids team. 08088010400

Blog — Analysis

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…

Read news

Mermaids Press

New NHS England guidelines restricting future access to puberty blockers: Our analysis

Mermaids’ policy team explains what the recently published guidelines mean for trans youth in England and Wales NHS England has published guidelines for how the new Hubs replacing GIDS will deliver children and young people’s gender related healthcare, which will be updated based on the Cass Review’s final report. While responses from Mermaids and supporters mitigated some of the most harmful proposals from the consultation, the final version continues to restrict, pathologise and undermine access to care. These guidelines do not come into effect until the new Hubs open, and do not apply to current GIDS patients at this point….

Read news

Mermaids Press

NHS England announcement on updated timeline for Hubs and GIDS: Mermaids’ response

NHS England’s updates today gave much welcomed clarity on the current and future provision of youth gender health services, but we remain concerned about the ever-growing waiting times.  What has NHSE said?  “Following the further advice Dr Cass’ provided in July 2022, NHS England set out plans for how it would start building a more resilient service by expanding provision and enhancing the focus on quality in terms of clinical effectiveness, safety, and patient experience. These plans were welcomed and supported by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. The first phase in these plans is to establish two new…

Read news

Mermaids Press

Census 2021: What does it mean for young people?

For the first time, we have census data on gender identity, with over 250,000 people in Wales and England declaring their gender identity as different from sex registered as birth in the 2021 census, published this month.  This means that at least 0.5% of people in England and Wales are likely to be trans (which we are using as an umbrella term), with over 1% of those aged between 16 and 24 identifying as trans.  This new data on gender identity is an important step in recognising the long neglected and overlooked reality of the trans community. From three to…

Read news

Mermaids Press

What’s going on with Gender Recognition? A Mermaids Explainer

There’s been a lot going on with legal gender recognition reform over the past weeks. We know this has left many trans young people and their families feeling worried about the implications of the recent statement made by Kemi Badenoch, Minister for Women and Equalities, as well as reports that the UK Government may block Scottish gender recognition reform.  Here we answer some of the most pressing questions raised by our community:  What changes have been announced to the UK’s Gender Recognition Act (2004)? The UK Government has announced its intention to update the list of countries whose Gender Recognition…

Read news

Mermaids Press

Shaping the future of healthcare: why reflecting on Bell v Tavistock still matters

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…

Read news

Mermaids Press

“I’m worried about the future of healthcare for trans youth” – a parent’s view

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…

Read news

Mermaids Press

“Social transition: It’s a lifesaver” – a young trans person’s view

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…

Read news

Mermaids Press

Trans healthcare guideline proposals: A response from our community

“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…

Read news

Mermaids Press

Proposed changes for England’s future youth gender services: An explainer

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…

Read news