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…
Blog — Press Statements
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…
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…
This blog post is now out of date. Please see this link for the latest information. It is now two weeks since the High Court ruled that parents could consent on their child’s behalf to Puberty Blockers, but still NHSE hasn’t changed its guidance to reflect the law. It is an extraordinary state of affairs for NHS England to be out of kilter with a High Court ruling for such a period of time, especially when we’re dealing with young people already suffering the impact of previous harmful decisions. Decisions which were, if you recall, enacted with blistering rapidity. On…
This blog post is now out of date. Please see this link for the latest information. We welcome today’s High Court Family Division ruling that parents can consent to their children being prescribed puberty blockers without needing to go to court, and that puberty blockers are not a special category of treatment which has to be authorised by a court order. This is welcome news for those fearing the Keira Bell ruling would prevent them from accessing ‘puberty blockers’. “We feel a huge amount of relief having heard this news. My youngest is 12 and we were told just before…
We have been following the developing situation regarding allegations of racism at Pride in London with growing concern. The resignation of Pride in London’s Director of Communications, Rhammel Afflick, followed by the entire Community Advisory Board, raises important questions for those who claim issues of discrimination at Pride in London are a thing of the past. The departure of staff and volunteers reflects broader issues around structural racism within society, and as a charity currently working hard to confront our own challenges around the meaningful inclusion of Black, Asian and racialised trans people, we call on Pride in London to…
Update – Feb 26th Yesterday, the Government accepted a proposed amendment to the Bill. The Bill was expected to return to the House of Commons for the Lords’ proposed changes to be debated, with the potential for them to be refused by MPs. This decision means that the Government will likely tell their MPs to vote for the new wording to just include ‘mother or expectant mother’. This action was unexpected and is the first time in many years that a government has deliberately excluded a minority by changing accepted inclusive language to be exclusionary. We welcomed the original inclusive wording of the bill, and this amendment constitutes a…
Susie Green, CEO of Mermaids said: “Mermaids is delighted to learn that Gendered Intelligence, Brook and The Endocrine Society have been given permission to intervene in this important case. “Caring for young people means listening to them when they share their needs and experiences. The court must now reflect that it has the best interests of young people at heart by listening to what they have to say. “No other child is subject to court proceedings when they, their parents and their doctor agree on what care is needed. “As one of the UK’s leading charities for transgender youth, Mermaids…
Susie Green, CEO of Mermaids said: “We’re absolutely delighted to see that the appeal of the Bell v Tavistock case will involve interventions from four fantastic organisations. “These organisations aim to give the children impacted a voice during the appeal hearing, something that was shamefully missing from the first instance ruling. “As one of the UK’s leading charities working with transgender children, we are proud to join together with many other organisations to support this important legal intervention, and of the unity and consensus behind it. “We stand together in the hope that we can speak up for young people…
Susie Green, CEO of Mermaids said: “For years, parents, young people and medical professionals have been saying that the GIDS needs more support. The waiting times are absolutely unacceptable, no other child is expected to wait years for expert healthcare and wellbeing support and nor should they. “The CQC report shows that the NHS is failing in its responsibility to provide the best care for all children. “When a child goes to their doctor asking for help, they should be seen by the right specialist as soon as possible. We expect this NHS trust to treat the CQC report as…