Mermaids given £500,000 by National Lottery (Sunday Times)

[crsacre]

A transgender charity that campaigns for children to be given prohibited sex-change treatment has been awarded £500,000 by the national lottery.

The payment to Mermaids has angered MPs, feminists and women’s organisations, who accuse the charity of bullying doctors, promoting falsehoods and using “emotional blackmail” to pressure parents to support life-changing medical interventions for their children. Mermaids will use the money to create a network of 45 groups nationwide.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/child-sex-change-charity-handed-500-000-by-national-lottery-dvbt7t2kb?shareToken=cd8d6faad97cd9dd3fe3f16eb3810f45

If the Mermaids talk is an audio version of the Genderbread person I think I'll pass.

Andrew Gilligan re evidence for lottery review.

I skipped through that Sound cloud recording and each time I stopped it was just that woman talking. Is that what passes for training these days?

I skipped through that Sound cloud recording and each time I stopped it was just that woman talking. Is that what passes for training these days?

She seeks quite a lot of affirmation.
Doesn't answer questions.

Would be interesting to know if the training program is standard.

Sounds like it would be useful to have a transcript of the Mermaids training session... @PencilsInSpace - fancy taking it on?

Sounds like it would be useful to have a transcript of the Mermaids training session

BeUpStanding The training definitely needs transcribing and annotating.

O my goodness....
yes, calling Pencils Orchids & transcribers please.

I can review (as in check/evaluate the research and its design if a trial or plausibility if theoretical) if there's a transcript.

I’ve looked at the Talk Guidelines. Maybe whoever censored my comment can PM me pricisely where I violated them. This place is becoming a fucking joke.

I can do it tomorrow afternoon. I have Xmas related errands and Xmas card writing in the morning (last date for 2nd class posting!)

humberella I put in an FOI request a coupe of days ago but only asked for the grant application and the assessment docs - I'll go back and add the other bits you mention

Am listening to this Mermaids training session... Fuck me, what a load of old cobblers. Do organisations actually pay Mermaids to come and tell them this unsubstantiated waffle?

BeUpStanding Its amazing how much cobblers can be packed into one training session.

Just listening to the Mermaids 'training' audio. The presenter has just been challenged over faux suicide stats. She has zero answers/lies for eacg challenge.

Who is challenging her? Thanks to him, whoever he is! I chuckle each time he tackles her.

I heard Genderbread man earlier and groaned.

Genderbread 'person'

It's all kicking off in the audio now!

It is fucking disgusting that this Mermaids outfit was in line for a handout of £500,000, half a million pounds. Of money donated by ordinary people, most of whom would probably prefer children not to be unnecessarily medicated for life and physically mutilated, and sterilised at a young age.

I listened to the first 10 mins where she came to the revolutionary conclusion we don’t all fit neatly into stereotypical pink and blue boxes, but then had to switch off when she started garbling on about different colour jelly babies for your head, heart and body, etc. It’s not based in science - it’s rubbish. Why is it allowed to have so much influence?

AspieAndProud

I’ve looked at the Talk Guidelines. Maybe whoever censored my comment can PM me pricisely where I violated them. This place is becoming a fucking joke.

It always is at night. I think they just delete anything that gets reported.

Its shit that you don't get any info on deletions. I have no idea whether have ever had a post deleted, could be on my way to a ban for all I know.
Maybe ask on site stuff

So I listened to the full recording, and while the first half was cobblers and nonsense, the second half was genuinely concerning. Even though I already know what Mermaids advocates, hearing it directly was still shocking and really quite upsetting. They really do need to be stopped!

Bravo to That Man who recorded the session, and asked such pertinent questions. That the 'trainer' responded so angrily to his entirely reasonable concerns is also very telling, not to mention extremely unprofessional.

the second half was genuinely concerning. Even though I already know what Mermaids advocates, hearing it directly was still shocking and really quite upsetting. They really do need to be stopped!

I agree that the second half really does need to be listened to and transcribed.
There are some very serious implications of this flawed training and that the primary target audiences are children, teachers, police, health etc makes this more so.

Aspie and Dandelions
You can report your deleted posts and ask why they were deleted. I had a discussion with MNHQ about one deletion when my meaning had been misconstrued, and they said I needed to explain what I meant more clearly to avoid this. My deleted comment was regarding the possibility that the transgender movement had been infiltrated by paedophiles in the way PIE infiltrated respectable organisations in the 70s.

I wonder if I've been clear enough this time or if this post will dissappear.

I had a nice chat once about the definition of a disorder once. They said I was wrong. I pointed out that as a trained therapist I did have a grasp of the terms.

I got as far as the light switches being either on or off, but a dimmer switch can be a spectrum. Therefore boys and girls must be on a spectrum.
No science there, just ill thought out analogies.

Meanwhile,
The Helplines charity who provide the standards to set up helplines.
helplines.org/helplines/mermaids-uk
Mermaids appear to be merely offering support to trans children and their families. Their customer base self refer themselves.
No mention of lifelong medication or radical surgery. I wonder about the training of the person on the end of the phone.

I think I will go and listen to the second half of the recording.

37 minutes in and losing the will to live. Was going to have a try at transcribing but in very noisy environment atm.