An inquiry into Mermaids has found that while the trans youth charity was mismanaged, there was no evidence of misconduct.
The two-year Charity Commission investigation cleared the charity of misconduct – but concluded there had been mismanagement amid a failure to adapt as it grew ‘considerably in a short period of time’.
Since its inception in 1999, Mermaids has grown significantly – it now works with 10,000 people a year and had an income of £2.3million in 2023 up from £84,000 in 2016.
The regulator found no evidence for some other complaints, including that it provided medical advice to young people, but it did find that Mermaids provided chest binders to young people over 13, but provided guidance about the health implications of using them.
The Charity Commission said the charity had issued 125 binders – used to flatten breasts with constrictive materials to make the person more male-presenting – between January 2021 and September 2022, which was when the service was suspended.
Elsewhere in its 22-page report, the commission said it had ordered Mermaids to review statements on its website about puberty blockers being ‘an internationally recognised safe, reversible healthcare option’.
The Charity Commission said Mermaids had been ‘unclear’ about whether the information it was providing was a statement of fact or Mermaids’ own opinion, and said that by law charities are required to ensure information provided on an educational basis is accurate, evidence-based and balanced.
The regulator said that the charity had failed to “address internal issues around culture and inclusivity at the charity”, had not carried out “sufficient due diligence checks when recruiting trustees”, and did not “properly adhere to their own internal HR policies when it came to the supervision of the former CEO and / or make clear to the former CEO and staff that the role did not fall into the charity’s normal HR management policy”.
Mermaids’ chair of trustees, Kathryn Downs, said the board had accepted the Charity Commission’s findings: “We are relieved that the Charity Commission Inquiry which began nearly two years ago is finally over. The report states, as we anticipated, that there is no finding of misconduct at Mermaids,” she said.
“The Commission has also confirmed, as we have repeatedly asserted, that we have not provided medical advice or acted improperly in our work with children, young people and their families.”