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Blog — Press Statements

Mermaids Press

A shameful act of trans exclusion: Mermaids’ response to the EHRC

In a shameful act of trans exclusion, the Equality and Human Rights Commission yesterday (Wednesday 26 January) failed our community, calling for gender identity to be removed from the proposed ban on conversion therapy legislation in the first instance to allow for further “scrutiny”. The Commission also wrote to the Scottish Government to further delay its work to update the Gender Recognition Act. The ban on conversion therapy and gender recognition has endured several years of “scrutiny” and will be subject to more throughout the respective legislative processes. These years of public discourse have resulted in trans people and communities…

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Mermaids Press

X Passport case dismissed by the UK’s Supreme Court

Today (15 December 2021) the UK’s Supreme Court has dismissed Christie Elan-Cane’s application to have a gender neutral option on passports.  The Court said that there is no consistent approach from the European Court of Human Rights on whether there is an obligation on European Convention on Human Rights member states, which the UK is one of, to provide a gender neutral passport. The member states have a wide margin to decide whether this is something they want to do.  The UK government has said they do not want to open up recognition of gender beyond male or female categories…

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IOC guidelines: Mermaids statement on the new framework for trans athletes

Mermaids broadly welcomes the new framework on inclusion for transgender athletes from the International Olympic Committee, published on Tuesday 16 November 2021. This framework stresses that no athlete should be excluded from competition on the assumption of an advantage due to their gender. The new guidance follows a two-year consultation process with more than 250 athletes and concerned stakeholders. The new framework focuses on 10 principles: inclusion, prevention of harm, non-discrimination, fairness, no presumption of advantage, evidence-based approach, primacy of health and bodily autonomy, stakeholder-centred approach, right to privacy and periodic reviews. This framework stresses that no athlete should be excluded from competition on…

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Mermaids Press

Mermaids reaction to the Sports Council Equality Group Review into Transgender Inclusion in Domestic Sport in the UK

Today (Thursday 30 September 2021) the Sports Council Equality Group have published their “Review into Transgender Inclusion in Domestic Sport in the UK.” We are disappointed to read this review, which rather than focussing on bettering its existing guidance for trans people in sport, yet again ignores the lived experiences of trans people, and misinterprets the Equality Act and academic literature. This report will have ramifications for trans people in the sporting community, and only seeks to cause unnecessary hostility, exclusion and confusion for those wishing to participate in sport. It is important to remember that the SCEG report only…

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Mermaids statement on the Bell v Tavistock appeal

The Court of Appeal has today told the High Court that it got Bell v Tavistock wrong. Its judgment today overturns a judgment that the High Court made in December 2020. This is wonderful news following almost 10 months of huge difficulty. Mermaids and most importantly the trans young people and their families that we represent are relieved that the Court of Appeal has today (Friday 17 September 2021) overturned the High Court’s decision from December 2020 that effectively barred trans young people from accessing life-saving medical treatment on the NHS unless they had a court order.  The decision today…

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Press Statement on the Bell v Tavistock Appeal

22.06.2021 Trans young people should have the same rights to bodily autonomy as any other young people  We have seen the distress and further delay to accessing treatment that the High Court’s decision in Bell v Tavistock has created for our service users. The decision has put a further strain on the already marginalised transgender and non-binary community and their families in this country. We believe strongly that trans and non-binary children should have the same rights over their healthcare decisions as anyone else, in line with their evolving understanding. This is in line with the UN Convention on the…

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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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A call to J.K. Rowling

Please understand the impact of your public statements on trans people. Warning: please be aware that the following post discusses issues which may cause distress. Today, J.K.Rowling re-stated her position on transgender lives. We have previously reached out to her both publicly and privately, offering a calm conversation around the issues she has raised and today, we sent a further email to her team, renewing that offer. We are yet to receive a response. As part of that email, we have disclosed something we hoped never to say. We say it now with permission from those involved. Without giving personal…

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An open letter to J.K. Rowling

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….

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Mermaids Press

A response to negative newspaper coverage on transgender rights

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…

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