To be unsurprised at todays's Charity Watchdog finding, Trans charity Mermaids was mismanaged and gave dangerous advice to desperate children who deserved better

Ah yes, I see what you were saying. It's so tragic. Playing with dolls isn't an early sign of anything, except perhaps that you'll be a good dad one day. But no, let's cut your balls off at 16 and ensure that you never get the chance.

Yes as I said, it wasn't an appearance, it was actual homophobia.

Also, he only said he was a girl to get his toys back. So he lost his whole future fertility and sexuality because wanted to play with dolls.

I wasn't speculating, I was commenting on what his own parents said and did.

In the now deleted Ted Talk Susie Green said that when Jackie showed an early preference for "girls' toys" she assumed he would be gay and said she wouldn't have had a problem with that but it was a real problem for her husband. So yeah her husband was homophobic, but also, why the hell are you speculating about a toddler's future sexuality, you absolute weirdos?

He didn't appear to be homophobic. They took his girl toys away and he only said he was a girl to get his toys back.

But worse is why they did it - remember there’s a father too! They did it because the boy’s father appears to have been homophobic. He commented negatively on his son’s “feminine” tendencies

This, but surely they are dead in the water. Their income streams have massively reduced and surely no corporates want to endorse them now?

I agree.

I'm so sorry you and your child were let down. I think a lot of people in your situation approach Mermaids hoping for proper support and care and end up in an even more difficult position as a result. Well done for advocating for your child.

Honestly, this is a good result for Mermaids. The true scale of their incompetence, negligence and zealotry has been completely minimised.

& SG brought her child to Thailand to be castrated for his 16th birthday.

My child is now an adult, but when we were going through this 12+ years ago Mermaids was the only source of 'support'.

We just had to muddle through as best we could, and waited until adulthood to do anything. There was nothing around in the way of help at that time.

My child is trans and on hormones now, but is very glad that I didn't allow any medicalisation in teenage years, as hard as it was at the time.

I set up a group for parents and kids in my area (life changes stopped me running it, but it's still going) with more neutral advice. There were 3 members from a 65 mile radius when it started, there are now around 100 members just from my small city.

That sounds appalling and irresponsible from Mermaids. And very stressful for you. Have you been able to access any practical help since ?

I agree the report, which has taken 2 whole years, is disappointing and should have been more rigorous in its anaylsis. I just hope that the celebs and corporate sponsors back away from this deeply toxic organisation and that that results in its demise.

And she was terminated from the role. It will be interesting to see what changes have really been going on.

Yes. Let’s see how this gets through on ethics. It is very dispiriting.

YANBU. The report was cowardly and toothless.

I am so sorry. I have had a friend tell me something similar.

It could have been a real help for so many, instead it sought to become a cultural icon and thought leader. But I have seen little thought just unquestioning application of WPATH doctrine.

What might we expect from an organisation led by someone who preferred to have a neutered child than a gay son?

I am just waiting though for all the posters to come and tell us that the Cass Report should be denounced in its findings that the evidence that has been the foundation of the treatment plans is weak.

And yet the Charity Commission has stated that going forward Mermaids needs to follow the Cass findings.

But apparently, Dr Cass’ team, PLUS the research teams of Finland, Sweden, Germany, Norway, Danmark and I think the Nederlands all independent to Cass, found the same findings!

I think any person so confident of their own research based conclusions should surely be sending their conclusions to all those teams and to their publishers to get all those reviews pulled. And if they don’t do this, or that the research publishers don’t withdraw the work, well maybe those posters making these over confident declarations need to stop spreading what amounts to misinformation.

Either way, MM have and will be reverse ferreting on some important issues that they were irresponsibly cheerleading. And they really cannot expect much help from
Stonewall at the moment. I mean, stonewall is struggling to keep people in their programmes and to maintain their support.

Agree why not?

Have any of you been onto Mermaids?

I was some years ago as my child is trans.

I'm not sure what it's like now, but back then you had to fill out a form and then have a call to get accepted.

I found it a but much, I wanted support and got encouragement and tips and tricks to get my child medicalised ASAP.

Maybe a year after I was on there things drastically changed, more and more people started coming on for advice for their very young children, 3 and 4 year olds, and were getting, imo, dangerous advice.

In the end I started contributing about just waiting and seeing what happened. I was called transphobic (I'm not at all).

I was also called transphobic for not allowing my child to have puberty blockers and told I was killing my child.

How it's managed to get the status it has, I really don't know. Its an awful place and doesn't provide support ime.

Reporting today's Times:

www.thetimes.com/article/039a5a34-d863-41bd-ae8c-c531327b9bc3?shareToken=78889be4c8791a2418857a226d769f43

Cass still allows kids to be put on puberty blockers as long as they are on a trial.

So they can continue to refer kids to rhe gender abbatoirs as long as they are keeping a list.

I cannot believe how bad this is right now.

Surely, it should be closed down and its leadership banned from ever working with children and young people.

What am I missing?