press statement Archives

Mermaids appoints Johanna Hardy as new Chief Executive Officer 

Mermaids, the UK charity supporting transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse children, young people and their families, is delighted to announce the appointment of Johanna Hardy (she/her) as its new Chief Executive Officer. 

Jo will be taking up the role in November 2025, bringing more than 20 years of leadership experience in the charity sector. Her career includes senior roles at Young Minds, Gingerbread, Contact and Mencap, with a strong focus on children, families, mental health and marginalised communities.  

Over the course of her career, Jo has led national helplines, face-to-face family support services, expert online information hubs and inclusive family events. She has extensive expertise in service development, safeguarding, quality assurance, evaluation, fundraising and organisational strategy. She also served as Vice-Chair of the BBC Children in Need grant-making committee for London and the South East. 

Jo’s personal experience campaigning for trans rights alongside her son – who has lived in his authentic gender identity for the past decade – has shaped her commitment to supporting trans, non-binary and gender-diverse young people. A passionate advocate for equity, inclusion and positive mental health, Jo is also an active member of All About Trans and the NEON spokesperson’s network. 

Speaking on her appointment, Jo said: 

“I am hugely excited and inspired at the prospect of joining and leading Mermaids as your next CEO. This role brings together my extensive charity sector expertise with my personal passion and lived experience in campaigning for trans rights as a parent ally. Mermaids is a remarkable charity whose work is needed now more than ever, and I am deeply humbled by the resilience and dedication of everyone involved. I can’t wait to play my part in moving this vital work forward.” 

Chair of Trustees, Hardeep Aiden said: 

“We are thrilled to welcome Jo to Mermaids. Her breadth of leadership experience, combined with her personal commitment to championing trans rights, makes her the ideal person to lead the charity into its next chapter. We look forward to working with Jo to continue delivering vital support for trans, non-binary and gender-diverse children and young people, and their families.” 

For media enquiries, please contact: 
press@mermaidsuk.org.uk 

After leading Mermaids for nearly three years, Lauren Stoner will be leaving the charity on 5th September. Lauren joined the charity on an interim basis in 2022 to guide Mermaids through the Charity Commission’s Statutory Inquiry. We are deeply grateful for Lauren’s expertise, hard work and dedication during that challenging period, and we wish her the very best for the future.

With recruitment now well underway for Mermaids’ next permanent CEO, there will be a short transition period. We are pleased to announce that, with the approval of the Charity Commission, Kathryn Downs, former Chair of Mermaids, has stepped down from her trustee role to become Interim CEO.

We are also delighted to confirm that Hardeep Aiden, a current trustee, has been appointed as the new Chair of Mermaids.

In addition, we are excited to welcome Paula Puxty to the new role of Chief Operating Officer. Paula joins the charity full time from October.

Over the coming weeks, we will be developing a refreshed operational plan for the remainder of the financial year as we ready ourselves for the arrival of a new Chief Executive and the next exciting phase of Mermaids’ work in delivery of our 2024-27 Strategy, supporting trans, non-binary and gender diverse young people and their families across the UK.

We would like to thank our staff, volunteers, supporters and our wider community for their passion and commitment. Your support is vital to ensuring Mermaids can continue to support and empower trans young people and their families, and it is hugely appreciated.

As LGBTQ+ sector organisations, we are deeply disappointed that the UK Government has decided to continue criminalising the prescription of puberty suppressing medicines for trans children and young people outside of a proposed NHS research study

Every single child and young person, across all nations of the UK, should be able to get the care that they need to grow up happy and healthy. To be supported by well trained, knowledgeable professionals who can make the right decisions with them, and who have access to appropriate medical treatments. To not have to wait too long or travel too far. And right now, that simply isn’t what’s happening for trans and gender diverse children and young people across the UK. This decision will not make things better.

The Government is entirely disregarding the voices of trans youth, who made clear their deep opposition to the restriction of private prescriptions for puberty blockers during consultation. This is particularly concerning given the lack of information about the proposed study and concerns raised about it by the Council of Europe.

The Government’s approach will further harm and alienate trans children and young people and their families, who already experience significant barriers and discrimination when accessing the services that are meant to support them.

We will continue to advocate for timely, supportive and holistic healthcare access for all. It is vital the NHS now steps up its efforts to substantially reduce the 6+ year waiting lists, through a rapid expansion of youth gender identity services that recognise and support trans young people’s experiences, including access to puberty suppressing medicines and gender affirming hormones where appropriate.

To all the trans children and young people reading this: you are not alone – trans and gender non-conforming youth have always existed and found ways to thrive throughout youth and into adulthood. As LGBTQ+ organisations, we are here to support you, listen to your concerns and we won’t stop advocating for your needs.

We know that this decision has had, and will continue to have, a significant impact on the lives of some young people. We encourage people to write and post responsibly about this matter, bearing in mind the impact this can have on the mental health of others.

You can get in touch with any of the services below if you need someone to talk to:

Mermaids Helpline and Webchat services are open Monday to Friday, 1pm-8:30pm on 0808 801 0400

LGBT Youth Scotland available on web chat Monday, Wednesday and Thursday

LGBT Health and Wellbeing Scotland Helpline available Tuesday to Thursday, 12-9pm and Sunday 1-6pm

Papyrus, Samaritans and Shout, who are able to support anyone concerned about their mental health

Organisations

Mermaids

Consortium of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Voluntary and Community Organisations

Gendered Intelligence

Supported by IGLYO and Transgender Europe (TGEU)

Statement from our Chair of Trustees, Kathryn Downs

We are relieved that the Charity Commission Inquiry which began nearly two years ago is finally over. The report states, as we anticipated, that there is no finding of misconduct at Mermaids.

The Commission has also confirmed, as we have repeatedly asserted, that we have not provided medical advice or acted improperly in our work with children, young people and their families.

We want to thank all our staff, volunteers and generous supporters who have ensured we have continued to provide high quality support and advocacy to trans young people, maintaining our vital helpline service, introducing new local groups and launching our new youth advocacy programme, MANGO.

We can now look forward and concentrate all our efforts and energies on providing high-quality support and empowering advocacy for trans children and young people and the important people in their lives.

The Trustees accepted that governance did not keep pace with the charity’s rapid growth linked to rising support needs from trans young people and their families. These historic governance issues were addressed through the implementation of the recommendations of two independent reviews, proactively commissioned by our Trustees, into EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) and Governance. The Board also strengthened due diligence processes for Trustee recruitment.

Considering the changes already made at Mermaids independently of this Inquiry, the time taken to publish this report has been frustrating, significantly affecting Mermaids’ fundraising and ability to deliver on our charitable objectives. We call on the Charity Commission to ensure that organisations serving groups facing rising hostility are supported and protected, whilst being held to account where this is necessary.

As Mermaids approaches its 30th birthday, we remain determined to deliver on our 2024-27 Strategy and expand our efforts to create a safe, inclusive society where trans children and young people are empowered to live their best lives, at a time where our communities need the support Mermaids delivers more than ever.

NHS England has today (7 August 2024) published several updates relevant to gender services for young people, including its Cass Review Implementation Plan and the new referral pathway specification.

These updates largely outline what we already know about NHS England’s approach. However, we’ll be reviewing them in detail and, alongside sector partners, will provide further information, analysis and resources in due course.

If you’re worried about anything you read and need to talk to someone, please contact our helpline. We’re here for you Monday to Friday, 9am – 9pm.

Mermaids condemns the racist, Islamophobic and anti-migrant violence we’ve witnessed across the UK in the last few weeks. We stand with all of those affected and have signed the following joint statement, organised by Together With Refugees, calling for the Government to take action.

“As organisations based across the UK working with refugees and migrants, we are deeply shocked and devastated by these horrific acts of violence. Racism, Islamophobia and hatred against migrants have no place in our country.

We stand in solidarity with the men, women and children affected, many of whom have already fled unimaginable horrors to try to find safety. And we stand together as a sector and with our communities to offer support. We know that these views and acts of violence do not represent the vast majority of people in this country.

It is right that the government has clearly condemned these attacks. But we urgently need action, today, to ensure that local authorities have the right resources to ensure those under threat of attack in asylum accommodation, refugee service centres and places of worship are properly protected.

This moment must mark a turning point, away from the divisive politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past. Now is an opportunity to bring communities and the country together for a different way forward – one that is compassionate and united.”

If you have been affected by recent events and need support, please contact our helpline. We’re here for you Monday to Friday, 9am to 9pm.

We are incredibly disappointed by yesterday’s High Court judgement to uphold the decision to restrict the prescription of puberty blockers for trans young people.

The ban, which was brought into place under the previous Conservative Health Secretary, will expire on 2 September 2024 and there must be a consultation process if the Government wishes to make it permanent.

We strongly believe that the Health Secretary must now listen to trans young people. This includes recognising the harm that outright bans have, and continue to cause, and making sure harm reduction measures are in place to support the children and young people affected.

In particular, we wish to draw attention to the judge’s concern for young people who had been prescribed puberty blockers prior to the ban, who risk being left without support and are particularly vulnerable.

The Health Secretary must immediately publish a plan that ensures these young people have timely access to holistic, supportive care, including to gender affirming hormones if they so wish.

We are concerned that the judge’s decision relied heavily on findings from the Cass Review, which has been subject to significant criticism and contestation in the scientific community since its publication.

We published our critique of the review earlier this year, and we remain committed to campaigning for access to timely, supportive and holistic healthcare, free at the point of use, for all trans young people who need it.

Please consider donating to our urgent appeal to support this work and ensure we can continue campaigning for a better world to grow up trans.

We recognise that this news will be distressing for many trans young people, and their loved ones. If you need support, please contact our helpline. We’re here for you Monday to Friday, 9am-9pm.

Our Trans Youth Manifesto, which we published in June, outlines what young people need from their elected representatives, and their message is clear: they want to feel safe, welcome and protected, and to live in a world where they are celebrated, not debated.

We hope the new Prime Minister will be true to his word, treating trans people with dignity and respect, and call on his new government to centre the needs and voices of trans young people in conversations that affect them.

We will do all we can to make sure the voices of young people are heard in the corridors of power and will work tirelessly to hold this government to account on improving the lives of trans young people.

The Equality Act is world-class legislation that took almost a decade to develop, and has been working well for 14 years.

Under the Act, trans people can legally access single-sex services based on their gender, and services can exclude trans people, whether or not they hold a Gender Recognition Certificate, if it is a proportionate thing to do to achieve a legitimate aim.

We believe the thresholds that the Equality Act sets are a proportionate bar for services to address if they are to use these single sex exemptions. Violence affecting women and girls is a significant concern, including for many LGBTQ+ women.

It is vital that there is sustained and meaningful investment to ensure there are services which meet the full diversity of need across the country.

However, it is not necessary to re-define sex in the Equality Act for service providers to provide a range of services. This is something they do routinely already.

Everyone deserves timely access to holistic, high-quality healthcare and to be treated with dignity, privacy and respect throughout their treatment and care.

This includes trans, non-binary and intersex people who already face significant barriers and inequality when accessing NHS care.
The consultation closes on 25th June 2024, and will inform changes to the NHS Constitution that will be in place until 2035.

We have concerns about some of the changes proposed, particularly those likely to impact trans patients and healthcare professionals.

In the meantime, we’d like to remind everyone that these proposals are under consultation, and will not change how NHS healthcare is provided at this time. There is likely to be a lot said and written about these proposals, not all of which will be balanced.

We’re looking carefully at the proposed changes and working with experts to understand their legal and practical impacts on trans, non-binary and intersex people and will share more with our communities in the coming weeks.

If you have concerns about your wellbeing or healthcare please reach out for support.

Signed by/On behalf of:

Gendered Intelligence

Mermaids

Trans Learning Partnership

The Proud Trust