Mermaids being investigated by the Charity Commission - thread 3

[WarriorN]

A new thread

Very detailed summary of mermaids history by the fabulous ripx4nugmeg on Twitter.

grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/mermaids-what-you-need-to-know?utm_campaign=post

Only scanned it so far but it's quite something to see the growing tendrils of influence mermaids has had over schools and public bodies all laid out

I wanted to add this testimony from woke central 1990's San Francisco.

twitter.com/bluskyeallison/status/1262487938073493512

No direct links obviously, but I think cultural debates on American campuses in the 1990s have had a huge impact on current thinking, and may go some way to explain the establishment's willingness to accept organisations like Mermaids without asking the necessary questions.

From Allison'stweete:
"The bubble burst when doyenne of the left & 3rd wave feminism, Pat Califia (now Patrick) edited Public Sex (1994). In it Califia advocated for (extreme) pedophilia. They would later print a retraction in the 2nd edition & I’m grateful that they did so"

I've not seen the name Pat Califa for years. I remember them cropping up a lot in Diva magazine when I was mid teens (mid 90s). I had no idea about the paedophilia stuff.

Link to an article by Dr Em on Pat Califa. I think it was originally full of links but they must have been broken when the article was moved (does anyone know why she was kicked off Medium?). I've never read this before but it seems very familiar. It's a part 3 of ?, when I've a moment I mean to read the rest.

uncommongroundmedia.com/the-trojan-unicorn-qt-and-paedophilia-part-iii-dr-em/

Mermaids suspended pod cast - has this been mentioned?

Dr Em's writing on this has been fantastic.

That's Comic Sans, or Comic Sans adjacent! They really are monsters!,

Oldham

Calderdale

I know of a few others too.

It's a travesty Icake!**

www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/politics/calderdale-council-removes-mermaids-from-list-of-recommended-services-on-its-website-following-controversy-3884153

Calderdale Council drop Mermaids

(a West Yorks police area)

Oh very interesting

Interesting...
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11349751/Child-abusers-using-loophole-change-names-avoid-detection-Sajid-Javid-reveals.html
Child abusers using a 'loophole' to change names and avoid detection by authorities, ex-Home Secretary Sajid Javid reveals at independent inquiry

This article does not mention either 'trans' or 'Mermaids'.

However we now do have the ex-Home Sec on record, effectively under oath, saying that name changes are creating a legal loophole for sex offenders which the authorities know is being exploited.

Keep your eyes on this, because obviously an organisation which has made a big deal over DBSs being traumatic is going to be opposed to whatever outcome this has. Claiming discrimination because trans people are disportionally affected isn't going to wash.

I agree. I noted that the Mail was very clear not to mention Mermaids or Trans, which I think is correct. The issue is predators, from whatever background, being able to change their names in order to bypass safeguarding. A former Home Sec has very publicly passed the baton to the current one, who has agreed to do something. Who knows who will be Home Sec later today or tomorrow, but they should now have this towards the top of their in tray.

That's interesting Red. I had a look at their recommendations and they do not seem to exactly cover what Javid is saying. Their recommendations relevant to DBS seem to be these:

"Recommendation 9: Greater use of the barred list
The Inquiry recommends that the UK government enables any person engaging an individual to work or volunteer with children on a frequent basis to check whether or not they have been barred by the Disclosure and Barring Service from working with children. These arrangements should also apply where the role is undertaken on a supervised basis."

"Recommendation 10: Improving compliance with the statutory duty to notify the Disclosure and Barring Service
The Inquiry recommends that the UK government takes steps to improve compliance by regulated activity providers with their statutory duty to refer concerns about the suitability of individuals to work with children to the Disclosure and Barring Service, including:
• all relevant regulators and inspectorates include compliance with the statutory duty to refer to the Disclosure and Barring Service in their assessment of safeguarding procedures during inspections;
• the National Police Chiefs’ Council works with relevant regulators and inspectorates to ensure that there are clear arrangements in place to refer breaches of the duty to refer to the police for criminal investigation; and
• an information-sharing protocol is put in place between the Disclosure and Barring Service and relevant regulators and inspectorates."

I also see the Mail used inquiry stats. Why did they use "gender" (with "other", an option) and what is "other" in their sexual orientation box?? If you search their report for "sexual orientation", rather worryingly, this turns up:

"Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, other (LGBTQ+)
Terms used to describe a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity"

www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/31216/view/report-independent-inquiry-into-child-sexual-abuse-october-2022_0.pdf

Surely an inquiry into sexual abuse of minors would know not to call children "queer" or to use the lobby group label of "gender identity". And what did they think the "+" was for?????

Absoluetely. Its essential to frame this correctly as a problem with abusers.

If do they get tighter controls on name change through this parliament, it gets a hell of a lot harder to roll back on, especially if the change is made because of a broad threat. Arguably if you are making exceptions for trans groups you put children in those groups at greater risk of exploitation and thats discriminatory - this highlights why its essential to put the focus squarely on minors as the 'most at risk' group, not adult staff and volunteers in ANY organisation.

In terms of privacy / discrimination we already are able to make 'reasonable' adjustments in the name of public safety when it comes to terrorism. As long as the checks are applicable to all its not an issue - especially when women as a group are already disproportionally more likely to have had name changes.

One to watch and see how it plays out now though.

Thank you for flagging this @RedToothBrush . This information is vital and helps explain why so many TRAs become very angry when they are 'deadnamed' and describe 'deadnaming' as literal violence.

It's not because the sight or sound of their real name causes dysphoric suicidality, although this is what they claim. It's because they are aware that many of them have a good legal reason for not wanting to be attached to their old name.

see also: "trans friendly DBS policies" which Mermaids also saus it employs. I suspect this means that theydo not perform searches against a candidate's 'deadname'.

Surely the new NHS guidance (discussed on another thread) has to be the end of Mermaids? If the NHS's authoritative view is that trans identification is a phase that children will grow out of, how can Mermaids possibly justify a "gender-affirming" model? How can they continue to tell parents that if they don't socially affirm their child as the opposite sex, the child might become suicidal?

The new NHS guidance is now open to public consultation so I have no doubt the TRAs will respond to it in swarms and probably make multiple responses from fake accounts.

However it will be interesting to see whether mermaids in its currently hobbled form will be able to have much influence on the consultation.

If the 'it's just a phase' (which, although I'm no expert, I think is correct) becomes the prevalent view...imagine being the parent of a child who has undergone irreversible and harmful treatment. Imagine being that child. Some will double down, some will not, I foresee great anger from either side.

I hope that Mermaids gets sued, I hope all the organisations involved get sued, even the NHS, the schools, the charities, even individuals, I hope children sue their parents and carers, I want to see prosecutions, I want to see people jailed.

I'm quite angry.

Me too - a mix of anger and despair at the harm that's happened and is still happening to all these children.

Thanks, cake - that whole series is excellent.

Sensitive DBS applications are now being sold as ‘trans friendly’ It just mean you can add things like previously known as names, or sex markers without your employer being made aware of those details. An employer like mermaids doesn’t offer a sensitive application, it’s an offering from the service for anyone who wants to access it. You might also use it if you’d changed name if a family member was convicted of certain crimes, or to escape DV.

Sensitive DBS do rely on the person filling out the previous name bit honestly tho (seeing as it’s easy to change name by unregistered deed poll and leave no official paper trail)!

www.personnelchecks.co.uk/latest-news/loophole-bypass-dbs-review?

clearcheck.co.uk/review-into-sex-offenders-changing-their-names/

True. But that’s the case with any DBS not just the ‘sensitive’ ones.