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Blog — News

Mermaids Press

Everyone deserves access to timely, supportive and holistic healthcare. However, across all of the UK, the NHS is failing trans youth, with appalling waiting lists of more than six years, virtually no first appointments offered for over a year, and increased politicisation of the support offered to children and young people.  Trans youth tell us they want services which are accepting and respectful, which offer supportive spaces to explore their gender, and provide access to medical transition if and when they need it.  The Cass Review, an independent review of NHS England gender services for children and young people, published…

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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

In the last week, senior Conservatives, including the Prime Minister, have used their Party Conference to distract from the real social, economic and environmental issues faced by everyone in the UK by repeatedly sharing transphobic rhetoric and undermining the existence and rights of the trans community. Nothing that has been said is a change to the law, or to the rights of our community, but these statements further legitimise the harassment which many trans young people and their families experience every day in the media, at home, at work, school and online. Trans young people and their families are asking…

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Mermaids Press

At Mermaids, we are committed to using our social media platforms to support our charitable aims to embrace and empower trans young people and their families, and educate the wider public on the issues they face. We believe that as a platform, X, formerly known as Twitter, no longer supports these aims.  For some time now, it has been clear that our values as an organisation are at odds with X, as the platform’s guidelines and company ethics do not encourage a safe, healthy or inclusive environment for our community to engage with us in. For these reasons, we have…

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Mermaids Press

Mermaids has been supporting transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse young people to survive and thrive since 1995 and has been a registered charity since 2015. We’ve experienced significant growth and change in that time, and in 2022-23 our income exceeded £2,000,000 for the first time, while we supported over 10,000 individuals.  Given this growth, and following our report into equity, diversity and inclusion, which highlighted significant concerns about governance and leadership at Mermaids, the trustees decided to commission a comprehensive, independent review of our governance. We knew that doing so would invite ever more scrutiny into our organisation at an already…

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Mermaids Press

We’re delighted to be recruiting for new trustee roles, including a new chair. In this round of recruitment, we’re looking to recruit people who have historically been underrepresented on our board. To this end, we would like to recruit two trustees aged 18-25 with lived trans experience. Interested but aren’t sure what it involves? We’ve put together a handy FAQ, explaining what it’s like to be a trustee and all the key information you need to know. The closing date for trustee applications is 10 September. Find out more about how to apply by visiting our jobs page. How much…

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Mermaids Press

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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Mermaids Press

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

In 2022, Mermaids decided to carry out a frank and honest appraisal of our internal culture and how we measure up in terms of equity, diversity and inclusion and to understand oppression which our staff experienced. We thank our staff for their honesty and bravery throughout this process. An independent external report which we commissioned has highlighted a number of significant challenges for us. Today we are sharing the recommendations from this report and the next steps which the team are already taking.  We know we must do better and we are absolutely committed to doing so, and are implementing…

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