Inside the Mermaids scandal: Celebs and money flow into trans charity despite horrifying allegations
LEEDS, UNITED KINGDOM: Mermaids, one of Britain's most controversial trans charities, says it wants "to create a world where gender diverse children and young people can be themselves and thrive". Their goal, they say, is to "relieve the mental and emotional stress of all those aged 19 years and under who are transgender, nonbinary and gender variant". However, the scandals and allegations that have buffeted it over the years seem to paint a different picture.
An investigation by The Telegraph found that Mermaids has been giving potentially dangerous chest-flattening devices to 14-year-olds despite their parents' opposition. Mermaids reportedly received $557,000 in National Lottery funding and more than $23,000 in government grants over the years. It was also hired by the Department for Education to provide training on "gender identity" in schools.
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The controversial charity, based in Leeds, England, was accused of offering to secretly send a breast binder to a girl they believed was 14 years old. The girl's mother had previously told the group that her daughter was not allowed to use one. The Telegraph obtained evidence that shows staff at Mermaids have offered binders to children who were as young as 13.
What is a chest or breast binding?
Binding, also known as chest or breast binding, is the process of compressing or reducing chest tissue to make a person's chest look flatter. It is done by using materials such as cloth strips, purpose-built undergarments and shirts layered from tight to loose. Binding is said to help people express themselves more authentically and give them gender or body confidence. Most binders are made of some kind of spandex blend in the main construction. A cotton panel is often used for comfort. They are typically worn beneath other clothing, but can also be worn as an outer garment.
However, binders do not come without risk. Binding improperly or for a prolonged time can lead to chest and back pain, rib bruising and fractures, shortness of breath, overheating, and skin damage. Binders can be used as an alternative to getting top surgery, which is a procedure to remove breast tissue.
Who runs Mermaids?
Susie Green, the CEO of Mermaids, got in touch with the charity in 1999 when she needed support for herself and her daughter. She became a trustee and Chair, and eventually became the CEO in 2016. "Over the last five years, she has helped the charity to reach out to thousands of children, young people and their families. As someone who has worked in the third sector for 20 years, Susie is committed to ensuring that all children are respected and loved unconditionally," the Mermaids website says.
The website quotes Susie as saying, "I am passionate about working for Mermaids because, without Mermaids, I would have been lost. As a parent, all I could find about gender-diverse kids was a single paragraph in a book. Speaking to and meeting others was a lifeline for me. I don’t want a single young person or their family to feel as helpless and isolated as I did so many years ago.”
What are the allegations levelled against Mermaids?
According to several parents, the charity has "pushed" their children into believing they were transgender and led them to assume they need irreversible medical treatment to “cure” their issues. Mermaids staff agreed to send out a breast binder in an email exchange with an adult posing as a 14-year-old girl who wanted to transition to a boy. They offered the binder despite knowing the child's mother would “not allow” it. Mermaids went to the extent of asking for a name and address they could deliver the binding to without the parent's knowledge.
The Telegraph claimed to have seen evidence that suggests the charity has been running a free “binder scheme” since as early as 2019. It has reportedly offered binders to users who said they were 13, and whose parents would not let them buy one.
Mermaids is paid to train teachers, police forces, NHS staff and social services on dealing with transgender issues. While multiple medical professionals and schools still send young people to the charity, the advice it gives them has raised serious questions. The Telegraph's investigation found that Mermaids staff advised children to not reveal anything about their contact with them. Teenagers were advised to lie to medical professionals in order to be prescriped puberty-blocking drugs, as well as on the best way to take testosterone. They were also advised on going abroad to start hormone treatment.
Notably, when the charity offered to send a breast binder to the supposed 14-year-old girl, they mentioned nothing about underlying illnesses and mental health conditions. They raised no question on whether a responsible adult would be informed.
Mermaids said the user had to have been a member of the charity’s online Youth Forum for a month. They said she would have had to post three times before the binder would be supplied to her. The investigation found that in one of the posts on the Youth Forum, a 13-year-old complained that his mother refuses to let them wear a binder because it is "neglect". In response, a moderator told him the charity runs a scheme and if they email their details, Mermaids will apparently post one “directly”.
The investigation also found that in other web chats, a Mermaids worker told someone they believed was a 14-year-old boy that the worker has been on puberty blockers for “many years” and “have never had a problem”. Admitting that they are not medically qualified, they said the drugs “halt puberty and if they come off them then it carries on”. They added that puberty blockers “simply suppress the onset of puberty until you are ready to make a decision how to go forward. They are totally reversible”. The advice came despite the medical community having raised concern about the impact of puberty blockers. Later, a Twitter thread from 2020 showed Mermaids allegedly advising breast binding.
Stephanie Davies-Arai, the founder and director of Transgender Trend, a campaign group, said, "This is a great safeguarding concern, because breast binding is basically a form of self-harm. It damages the body in some very serious ways and it prevents girls from being able to breathe properly, meaning that they cannot do sport or be active." It added, "They [Mermaids] are giving out inaccurate and partial information and they are encouraging people to trust in what is a medical experiment. Parents deserve to know all of the information, whatever decision they make in the end.”
Mermaids' problematic past
Back in 2017, Mermaids was banned from contacting a family after a boy, 7, was forced by his mother to live as a girl. The charity was accused of advising the mother to force her son to live as a girl. Mermaids was also slammed for advertising "same day" cross-sex hormone treatments for children. The treatment is banned by the NHS as it is said to cause irreversible changes and compromise fertility later in life for anyone under 16 who undergoes it.
Metro reported that following a High Court case, the child was removed from his mother as she had caused him "significant emotional harm" and "pressed [him] into a gender identification that had far more to do with his mother’s needs and little, if anything, to do with his own". The boy was sent to live with his father. The judgement said he has since "asserted his own masculine gender" by living life as a boy.
After the judgement was announced, the Sunday Times reported that Mermaids said the decision was "horrific" and insisted that the child really identified as a girl. They said there was "no evidence at all to support this judge’s views". However, the charity was reportedly "ordered to have nothing to do with this child following their removal".
When Mermaids leaked private emails online
In 2019, Mermaids was accused of publishing part of its email database on the internet. The emails reportedly contained intimate deatils of youngsters seeking help. Over 1,000 pages of confidential emails were leaked, including some that revealed messages from distressed parents about their children’s suffering. The correspondence even included names, addresses and telephone numbers.
One could simply find the material by typing in Mermaids and its charity number. The emails were removed only after The Sunday Times warned the charity that the messages had become public and was out there for anyone to access. At the time, a mother whose child was named had said, "I don’t think there could be a more fundamental breach of his right to privacy.”
The emails were written between 2016 and 2017. They comprised messages from the mother of a nine-year-old. The mother said that her son had fully transitioned from girl to boy but unable to cope, the child was in extreme emotional distress and was fighting fellow pupils and stealing from his parents. Many of the emails included the full names of the parents and children, pre- and post-transition, as well as telephone numbers and confidential information on treatment and care.
Transgender Trend had said at the time, "Concerns about Mermaids are not new. Any charity which works with children must be subject to the highest level of scrutiny and yet this has not happened. Instead, a charity which began as a support group for parents, has been enabled to act way beyond its level of competence and expertise through substantial government and lottery funding."
It added, "There needs to be an investigation into how this group, with no medical qualifications, has been given the authority to influence the approach towards the most vulnerable children, both within schools and the NHS. The evidence of Mermaids’s communications with the Tavistock and the Equality and Human Rights Commission raises serious questions about how a controversial children’s charity is given undue influence behind the scenes."
Mermaids later apologized for making the emails public. "Mermaids have rapidly examined all the information so as to ascertain any other measures which need to be taken. So the overall position is that there was an inadvertent breach, which has been rapidly remedied and promptly reported to the ICO," a spokesperson said, according to The Guardian. “Finally, Mermaids apologises for the breach. Even though we have acted promptly and thoroughly, we are sorry.”
Who are the celebrities supporting Mermaids?
Despite the controversies, there is no dearth of people extending their support to the charity and showering it with praise. Among others, their patrons include a retired Captain of the British Army Hannah Graf MBE; director, writer and actor Jake Graf; model and activist Munroe Bergdorf; as well as Charlie Martin, a racing driver trying to become the first transgender competitor in the iconic Le Mans 24 Hours race. International actress, model and human rights campaigner Jameela Jamil once extended support to the charity by posting a video on online.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have also shown their support to Mermaids. “Mermaids are one of a number of important organisations who are working on the frontline to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people in Britain," a spokesman for the Royal Foundation had said. A Telegraph article said Harry’s mental health charity, Heads Together, had once invited Mermaids to join its wellness efforts.
Actress Emma Watson is also known for having backed the charity. This year, Harry Potter author JK Rowling blasted celebrities and corporations who supported the group after it came under fire. MEAWW previously reported that Rowling hit out at the supporters saying many influential personalities backed Mermaids charity "without doing their due diligence".
Charity of the Year!
In August this year, Mermaids was named Charity of the Year and received appreciation from Leeds North West MP Alex Sobel. Sobel met with Mermaids at their Yeadon office as they were awarded the title at the Bank of London Rainbow Honours 2022.
Sobel said, according to Ilkley Gazette, "I was extremely pleased to call into Mermaids and congratulate them on their win. As well as being named Charity of the Year, they have also been awarded £10,000 which will go to support even more local people within LGBTQ+ community."
"The charity empowers thousands of people with its secure online communities, local community groups, helpline services, web resources, events, and residential weekends. They also educate and inform wider society on gender identity by helping professionals accommodate and reassure gender-diverse young people," he continued, adding, "Mermaids plays a vital role in ensuring that the local LGBT+ community can live their lives with equality, dignity, and respect.”
Mermaids unmoved by controversy
Over the years, the charity has only shaken off the continual controversy. Children questioning their gender are still regularly sent to Mermaids. Annual accounts from 2020-21 show that the group received a total income of more than $2 million which is an increase of almost a million on the previous year. It said it earned over $66,000 from training, which is doubled what it predicted, as it provided sessions for the police, NHS children’s mental health service, hospital trusts, charities and fostering agencies.
The charity boasts that it gave 59 training sessions at schools where GPs, educational psychologists, therapists and paediatric nurses participated in the sessions. Across the country, Mermaids is recommended by councils, schools and NHS organisations as a great resource for young trans people and their families.