The below letter was submitted today (31 July 2020) to the BBC on behalf of the UK’s leading LGBTQ+ organisations. We are calling, in one voice, for a full and transparent explanation as to why trans organisations were removed from the BBC’s former ‘Gender Identity’ page. Currently, no trans organisations covering England, Scotland and Wales are included in the new ‘LGBT Issues‘ page. Those wishing to add their voice to this complaint can do so here. To: BBC Editorial Policy Department Cc: David Jordan, Director of Editorial Policy and standards; Tim Davie, incoming Director General; Baron Hall of Birkenhead, Director…
News — Press Statements
After a period of considerable anxiety and uncertainty, we are pleased that the Minister for Women and Equalities has stated unequivocally that her department will not be rolling back the rights of trans people. However, the Gender Recognition Act consultation was intended to improve the lives of trans people, never to regress their rights, and it is a sad reflection that three years of anguish, delays and assurances have so far achieved nothing more than a promise things won’t get worse. We call on the Government to publish in full the response to the Gender Recognition Act consultation for England…
Please take the time to read and share and write to your MP If we legislate to police gender in toilets, then how and at what point do we decide who is and isn’t a woman? According to a national newspaper today, Boris Johnson’s government is preparing to scrap a review of the Gender Recognition Act; a review which was commissioned by Theresa May because the current system for trans people is costly, lengthy, humiliating and unnecessary. The newspaper report suggests that the government is preparing to set out new ‘safeguards’ to protect female-only spaces including refuges and public lavatories….
Dear J.K. Rowling, We would like to begin by offering our solidarity with you as a survivor of domestic and sexual abuse. Reading your moving and honest account, we felt a connection to your pain. That connection exists between us, regardless of any differences we may have around gender identity. Writing those passages must have been very difficult for you and the subsequent front-page headline in a tabloid newspaper was nothing short of deplorable. As a trans charity, our staff and volunteers deal with cases of domestic abuse regularly and we hold unquestioning solidarity with all survivors of domestic violence….
It would be an extraordinary move for the Minister for Women and Equalities to support the introduction of a new form of inequality into British medical practice. Today, the Minister for Women and Equalities, Liz Truss MP gave evidence to the Women and Equalities Select Committee and set out her priorities for the Government Equalities Office. Ms Truss stated that “the protection of single-sex spaces…is extremely important.” We hope Ms Truss agrees that her brief as Minister for Women and Equalities includes, without question, transgender women. We agree with Ms Truss that single-sex spaces must be protected for everyone, including…
Is Mermaids still able to support people in need? Yes, our helpline, webchat, email support and text support services are operating as normal. Our dedicated team of staff and volunteers are determined to offer more support not less during this period of uncertainty. However, some services which rely on group meetings and activities have had to be postponed or cancelled in the best interests of our service users, volunteers and staff. What services are closed or postponed? We have taken the difficult but necessary decision to cancel or postpone all group events or appearances with immediate effect to allow people…
Today, a new Conservative Government has been elected and many service users have been reaching out to us asking what this means for the future of trans and non-binary children and young people. As with any new Government, we see this as a fresh opportunity to work towards a better world for our service users. Reform of the Gender Recognition Act is, of course, a major priority for us over the course of this term. We must ensure the reform process launched by the previous Conservative Party leader, Theresa May in 2018, is honoured and completed under Johnson’s Government in…
We’re proud to have launched our powerful crowdfunder campaign, “If I Had A Voice”, sending the plea to journalists, broadcasters and social media campaigners: “If you haven’t listened to transgender kids, don’t speak about them”. Corpus Linguistics research carried out exclusively for Mermaids by Professor Paul Baker of Lancaster University found that*: – The British press has increased its coverage of stories about trans people over the last 6 years writing roughly three and a half times as many articles in 2018-19 compared to 2012. – Mentions of transgender children are 23 times as common in 2018-19 compared to 2012. – An analysis of…
Recently, we’ve tried very hard to step away from the most degrading examples of anti-trans rhetoric in the national press and focus on the positive. Today, in the middle of what might feel like nothing short of an orchestrated onslaught, we feel we have no choice. We cannot stand silent amidst a slew of misleading stories, seemingly designed to undermine, frighten, alienate and demonise a vulnerable minority, including children. We have been approached for comment by all of the journalists responsible and it has been depressing, trying to offer fact-based, reasonable information. In truth, while a small number are simply too…