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UK charity Mermaids, which promotes transgender children with transgender identity, is under scrutiny for protection concerns after it claims it provided a breast-binding device to a teenager.
On Friday, the Charity Commission, the regulator of charities in England and Wales, confirmed it was investigating concerns about Mermaid’s approach to protecting young people.
Mermaids is a children’s charity that supports “gender-variant and transgender youth.” We also provide gender diversity training in many locations including the NHS, schools, social services, child and adolescent mental health services, police and uniform services, and other charitable and corporate clients.
The Telegraph survey The charity claimed to have sent breast flattening devices to children aged 13 and 14 against their parents’ wishes or behind their parents’ backs.
It also found that staff without medical training were giving advice to users as young as 13, claiming that antipubertal drugs were advertised as “safe and fully reversible.” Did.
After the story was published, the charity committee received and evaluated many complaints about mermaids.
A breast binder is a body brace device for girls who want to flatten their breasts and look more masculine.
UK’s top pediatrician, Dr Hilary Kath, authored the preliminary edition of the Kath Review (pdf), a now-closed transgender clinic for minors, Tavistock said the restraint process used to hide the breasts of people suffering from gender dysphoria was “painful and potentially harmful.” said.
A charity committee spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email: We started a regulatory compliance case and wrote a letter to the trustee. We are waiting for their reply now. ”
This case is a regulatory compliance case and not a statutory investigation. In other words, this is not, in itself, a finding of wrongdoing, but rather a first step a commission can take in investigating potential wrongdoing.
mermaid
A spokeswoman for Mermaid told The Epoch Times in an email that it has received a letter from the charity committee and will respond directly to the regulatory body in due course.
The spokesperson should mermaid statement In response to an article in The Telegraph on September 26, it said, “Robust security and moderation processes are in place to ensure the forum is a safe place for transgender, non-binary and gender-diverse youth and their families. It is being implemented,” he said.
“In August 2022, an individual believed to be a journalist attempted to access a youth forum pretending to be a 14-year-old in need of support. “We will regularly review our processes and procedures to ensure our forums are safe and secure.”
For breast binders, “providing young people with comprehensive safety guidelines from binders and experienced staff is a likely alternative to risky practices and/or increases continuation or discomfort.”
Puberty blockers are “an internationally recognized, safe and reversible medical option that has been recommended in the UK and internationally for decades.”
In July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned that puberty blockers could cause vision loss in children. I’m here.
“Thorough investigation”
James Esses is co-founder of The Thoughtful Therapists, a group of psychotherapists and counselors working in the field of gender dysphoria.
2021, Esse expelled Three years after his psychotherapist training course, for openly discussing his concerns that young children who express physical discomfort are being actively transitioned. hand.
“I am very pleased that the commission is taking some action against the mermaids,” Esses told the Epoch Times.
“The important thing now is that they conduct a proper and thorough investigation,” he said.
“The type of content they provide to young people through their websites and podcasts is very concerning. There are many ideologies being imposed on children. ‘ he added.
He said there are many big companies related to mermaids through fundraising.
“I hope they sever ties with Mermaid now that these protection issues have been brought to their attention. If not, they are complicit in what’s going on.” Esses said.
‘Not a criminal case’
“Supplying breast binders is not a crime,” a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department told The Epoch Times in an email.
“The Met supports transgender and gender-diverse individuals who choose to wear breast binders freely,” the spokesperson added.
“If an individual case is reported to the police regarding concerns about the practice of breast ironing or the use of breast binders, it may be evaluated jointly with social services to ensure the safety and well-being of the individuals involved.” To do so, the same approach will be taken regardless of culture, faith or community,” they said.
“We want to reassure individuals who choose to wear binders that they are not committing a crime,” the spokesperson added.
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Owen Evans is a UK-based journalist with a particular interest in civil liberties and free speech, covering stories from a wide variety of countries.
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