Help me respond?

[Needapadlockonmyfridge]

My flabber is gasted .

A women's sport magazine I subscribe to has emailed me, as part of their Pride comms, encouraging me to donate to Stonewall and Mernaids.

For context, their comms profiles some prominent lesbian female sportspeople, and cites a Stonewall survey on perception of homophobia and transphobia in sport.

I wasn't surprised to see a link to Stonewall, but Mernaids?

I want to respond but don't even know where to start.

It is a shame. It is a good magazine but I think WTF are they playing at?

It just takes one determined activist to make an organisation go along with this.

Mermaids is a charity that has been in trouble for some time, see the recent Charity Commission investigation and some earlier incidents, such as:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63081644
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/30/transgender-charity-mermaids-investigated-breast-binders-given-to-children

https://www.civilsociety.co.uk/news/mermaids-charity-halts-helpline-services-due-to-intolerable-abuse.html

Also look for the lax data security on its website that revealed personal data of vulnerable children.

And let’s not forget Dr Jacob Breslow who had to step down as Mermaids trustee after it became known that he spoke at a conference seeking to support adults with a sexual interest in children. Breslow later resigned from his post at the London School of Economics. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63137873

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11287913/Mermaids-closes-helpline-webchat-service-saying-received-intolerable-abuse.html There is also (now former) Mermaids employee Darren Mew who posed for pornographic photoshoots and posted them on social media. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trans-charity-worker-posed-as-schoolgirl-in-explicit-pictures-fd6s37f96

Of course these incidents are in the past but this charity is also out of step with current developments in paediatric gender medicine, see their reaction to the Case Review.

Hope someone else will be along with information on Stonewall but you could start with the Alison Bailey case …

Thank you @Holeinamole - All I can find on Mermaids is, as you say, past conduct (shameful nonetheless) but the Cass response could be a good start point.