Trustee of Mermaids quits after speech to paedophile aid group Times article

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Sorry I don't have a share token but the article claims that Dr Jacob Breslow has links to an organisation that promotes 'induviduals who are attracted to pedophiles'. Mermaids have removed him now but it does show how lax their safeguarding procedures are (yet again).

Dr Jacob Breslow ... gave a presentation at an event for the US-based B4U-ACT in 2011.
According to its website, B4U-ACT promotes services and resources “for self-identified individuals . . . who are sexually attracted to children and desire such assistance”.Records show that the academic...became a trustee of Mermaids..in July this year.

www.thetimes.co.uk article/990e9e88-434f-11ed-8885-043c27446b97?shareToken=0258f847470f2b5b0bf6d1e933863c30

Oh right so it's LSE's fault

This has just cropped up on my Twitter feed from Mermaids:
"Due to intolerable abuse, we have made the decision to close the helpline and webchat services for the rest of today and tomorrow. Next week, to enable us to take all volunteers off the rota, we will reduce hours to 9am to 6pm only."

I wonder how many people who work for mermaids have decided to quit. And of course this is being cited as the result of bullying rather than transparency. Again.

Do you think all their volunteers have been checked via dbs and done safeguarding training?

To plan to re-open a helpline (but not with the volunteers back on the rota and primarily during office hours) would tend to suggest that there was something urgently needing to be fixed about the volunteers being on the rota.

I am a trustee of a charity (entirely different field) with a helpline. Their problem might be:

• poor recruitment/training records
• poor reference/DBS checking
• poor supervision
• poor record keeping/casenotes if there is any form of casework

What a mess

DBS is the most basic of all checks, though. It just shows if you've had criminal convictions.

For someone operating a charity ostensibly supporting children in distress you'd surely expect far more indepth checks and training?

Facebook post about the helpline:

'We do not make this decision lightly, but our duty of care towards staff and volunteers necessitates a harm reduction approach to protect our dedicated staff and volunteer team.'

Again, placing the wellbeing of staff and volunteers first. What about the children and YP you're supposed to be there for, Mermaids? No mention of them at all in that statement.

I’d say a mix of all of the above. The trustees are bricking themselves now they’ve realised they’re on the hook for this shitshow.

Re the DBS checks, I'm sure pp have mentioned it, but isn't there a loophole re holding a GRC and full checks being carried out?

Mermaids has been flirting with practical applications of queer theory since at least 2018.

Their Big Lottery 2018 Reaching Communities grant included the aim of developing "stronger relationships with universities and academia"

Their appointment of Chair Belinda Bell in 2019 provided links to Cambridge University via the CU Judge business school, plus the heavily interlinked and incredibly incestuous east of England third sector. (See also recent trustee appointment Matthew Maddocks.)

Their appointment of a pedophile apologist was undoubtedly a mistake, but their appointment of an academic at the very fringes of queer theory and childhood studies was the natural conclusion of a planned and considered organisational shift.

Or to put it another way Mermaids had full access to Jacob Breslow's recent and easily found works. They found nothing to trouble them in his accounts of the "hypersexualised provocative" 12 year old boy he put on stage at an event he organised, or in his casual references to children and intergenerational relationships.

In Mermaid's own words "we became aware of his participation in a 2011 conference that would have disqualified him from becoming a trustee. Once notified, we immediately launched an investigation and Dr Breslow tendered his notice that same day"

Breslow's departure is not because the views in his published works did not align with Mermaids' views, it is because he'd been stupid enough to openly associate with an organisation that supports pedophiles.

There is. You are allowed to hide your ‘deadname’. And your biological sex. Not dangerous at all. Wonder who signed off on that clause?

Oh whoops. None of our volunteers have have safeguarding training and vetting. We've taken them on good faith cos they worked for the right people?

This is from Disclosure Scotland:

www.mygov.scot/transgender-disclosure-application

'You do not have to:

answer 'yes' to the part of the form about previous names, unless you had other names that do not relate to your transgender status

disclose previous names that relate to your transgender status on the application

give your Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) to your employer

Notify Disclosure Scotland of your previous names

Even though you do not need to disclose the previous names on the application, you'll need to provide these to Disclosure Scotland separately.

...

What your disclosure certificate will show

Your disclosure certificate will show your current name. It will not include any previous names.'

It’s so obvious they have pulled the help line because they know their safeguarding is non existent. Surely no one believes the reason they are giving?

Owen Jones devastated:

twitter.com/OwenJones84/status/1578028166148689922?cxt=HHwWhMDUjbSQpOYrAAAA

'This is absolutely devastating.

Mermaids represent a crucial lifeline for young trans people and their families. I know so many stories about how they've transformed lives.

That their helpline has been shut down underlines that LGBTQ+ charities are under coordinated attack'

I am sure they would record all their phone calls. I would guess if someone got hold of them there is little to no threats.

Do the charities commission look at things like this? Not threats received, but what their safeguarding (for the phone lines) was and what action they took?

Pointing out a paedo apologistic is a trustee of a children's charity when there are already safeguarding concerns and said charity freely admit they didn't do a full background check and relied on another organisation to do it to an appropriate level is a 'coordinated attack'.

Right o.

Thank you for flagging and share token.

Every time I think my contempt for Mermaids has peaked it does something to surprise me 🙄

Interesting that, so far, Benjamin Cohen is quiet on the shutting down of the support line

Or they’ve realised that they haven’t been suitably checked.

Talcum isn't devastated about the appointment of the pedo apologist trustee then? Just the closure of the helpline.

And 'stories' are probably all they are. Not actual evidence.

I suppose it’s entirely possible that they’ve had a slew of telephone complaints from parents who have advised them? Or teachers, businesses & police forces they’ve trained? Or even transition regretters?

I’m sure a whole afternoon of calls like that would feel like abuse, despite not actually being so.

I hope no one is actually calling up just to want insults - they’d be far better off using the time to scroll through all Breslow’s friends and colleagues social media profiles or research the backgrounds of other trustees & staff, past or present. I bet this isn’t the only questionable appointment to slither through the safeguarding cracks

Helen Mimmy, here still hoping this is all a bad dream...

And he wasn't overly bothered about NSPCC rubber man wanking in the toilets either...indeed I think he became quite testerical and upset about folk taking exception to it, said it was homophobic to criticise him or words to that effect...

"No sacred castes" Owen you absolute melt. Fucking safeguarding 101.