U.K.-Based Charity Benefiting Transgender Youth Under Investigation
The transgender flag flying in London. The transgender charity Mermaids is under investigation following complaints of unethical practices with minors (Flickr).
The Charity Commission is investigating the transgender charity Mermaids, one of the leading LGBTQ+ organizations in the United Kingdom, following complaints of unethical practices with minors on September 30.
Mermaids is a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 that seeks to support trans, nonbinary, and gender-diverse children and their families. The organization assists young adults under the age of twenty through help services and moderates web chat services for students under the age of 25.
On September 25, 2022, The Daily Telegraph published an article detailing the information they claim to have received from Mermaids when posing as a 14-year-old on their online help forum. After posing on the online forum for one month, The Telegraph states that a representative from Mermaids offered to mail them a binder, even after being explicitly told their parents did not allow them. The Telegraph also says that the online forum “offer[ed] advice to users who present themselves as young as 13 that controversial hormone-blocking drugs are safe and ‘totally reversible.’”
Many parents are concerned that Mermaids has been circumventing them in deciding what is best for their children and that the organization has been presenting possibly harmful information. Some people oppose binding because of the risks to breathing, back pain, and breaking ribs. However, there are many rules one must follow when binding that minimize these risks, which Mermaid requires people read and adhere to before giving them binders.
Mermaids’ website states they do not give specific healthcare advice to people or push young people into decisions. Rather, they provide general information from trusted groups like the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS). Following The Telegraph’s article, Mermaids made the following statement:
“Mermaids takes a harm reduction position with the understanding that providing a young person with a binder and comprehensive safety guidelines from an experienced member of staff is preferable to the likely alternative of unsafe practices and/or continued or increasing dysphoria.”
However, following the release of The Telegraph’s articles an investigation was opened by the Charity Commission because of complaints filed against Mermaids. The Charity Commission regulates charities within England and Wales. Charity organizations within the U.K. must register with the Commission, which then holds them accountable to legal requirements and enforces regulations against misconduct. In particular, the Commission opened a regulatory compliance case, which does not necessarily mean that it has found any wrongdoing on the part of Mermaids. Mermaids says the Charity Commission’s investigation is procedural and is “seeking clarification on some of our policies and procedures'' and that they will respond in “due course.”
Mermaids released a second statement following the opening of the Charity Commission’s investigation. The charity stated that “While aimed at Mermaids, we believe this to be an attack on the trans community as a whole, and an attempt to undermine the rights we have fought – and will continue to fight – so hard for.” Mermaids has an extreme application and moderation process to limit their online forums to only students of the required age. The organization has since blocked the person going undercover as a 14-year old, and affirms that it never sent them a binder. However, Mermaids argues that “supplying or wearing a binder is not a crime”.
Mermaids is a trusted source that trains schools, police, and the NHS on how to deal with transgender issues. If this investigation leads somewhere, it could have devastating consequences for transgender rights in the U.K.