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Blog — Make a Change

Mermaids Press

NHS England youth gender services consultation: Tips for responding

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

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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The Human Rights Act has played a key role in trans equality – let’s protect it

As the consultation period on proposed reforms to the Human Rights Act (HRA) draws to a close, Mermaids’ policy team reflects on the history of the Act and how it has advanced LGBTQIA+ rights in the UK, and looks at how the Government’s plans will restrict protections currently afforded to us all.      What is the Human Rights Act (1998)? The HRA, passed in 1998, incorporated into domestic UK law the fundamental rights and freedoms set out in the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), which everyone in the UK is entitled to. More specifically, the HRA lets you defend those…

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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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