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Blog — Make a Change

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How my favourite teacher helped me to accept myself as a teenager

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

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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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

Mermaids 2022: Year in review

2022 was a particularly difficult year for the trans community, but amongst the challenges, there has been cause for celebration too.  From the courage of Members of the Scottish Parliament who stood strong in the face of intense opposition and voted for gender recognition reform, to Mermaids being selected as a charity partner for the world’s largest streaming event and the formation of our first-ever Youth Advisory Panel, here are just a few of the more positive things we’ll remember 2022 for.  Support services To the end of November 2022, we answered 3,593 support line calls and 4,186 web chats, made…

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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 support lines 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

TDOV: Visibility is the beginning, liberation is the goal – and we can only achieve it together

Today (31 March) is Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) a day where around the world we celebrate the accomplishments of trans, gender non-conforming and non-binary people while raising awareness of the work that still needs to be done to achieve trans liberation. Over recent years, we’ve seen a rise in anti-trans rhetoric from legislation to the media. At Mermaids, we wanted to look towards the future and ask the trans community and our allies what their hopes are and what they commit to doing to make the world a better place for trans people. Our Helpline Service Officers play a…

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Mermaids Press

How to celebrate trans history beyond LGBT History Month

Download our new toolkit for ideas on shining a light on the T in LGBT this month and beyond Happy LGBT History Month! Celebrated every February in the UK since 2005, it’s an opportunity for the community to claim our past, celebrate our present and create our future.  This year, the theme is Politics In Art, so we’ve teamed up with an incredible non-binary illustrator and comic artist, Rowan Frewin, for a very special trans history lesson.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rowan Frewin (@rowanfrewin) We’ve also got some great ideas in our toolkit for shining…

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Mermaids Appeals LGB Alliance Charity Status

Mermaids, leading UK LGBTQ+ charities and Good Law Project appeal the LGB Alliance’s charity status The Charity Commission’s decision to give the controversial LGB Alliance charitable status has been met with disbelief and sorrow by LGBTQ+ people across the UK. We have now lodged an appeal against that decision, supported by LGBT+ Consortium, Gendered Intelligence, LGBT Foundation and TransActual. The appeal is being crowdfunded by Good Law Project. To be registered as a charity, an organisation must be established exclusively for charitable purposes, as recognised in law, and it must pursue them in a way which gives rise to tangible…

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Write To Your MP: it’s easy and it works!

It is one of the primary duties of MPs to represent the views of their constituents in Parliament. As a constituent, it is your right to have your voice heard on issues that affect you and other people in your area. Writing to your MP is a great way to ensure that your MP, regardless of the political party they belong to, knows your views. When MPs receive lots of letters showing viewpoints like yours, they are more likely to listen. People often think they’re powerless to influence the decisions made by their MP, but actually writing a letter can…

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