The fall of Mermaids cannot come soon enough
At long last, the troubled charity is getting the scrutiny it deserves.
At last. The Charity Commission last week launched a full-on statutory inquiry into Mermaids. The commission opened a regulatory-compliance case into the controversial children’s charity back in September, after serious allegations surfaced about its failure to safeguard gender-confused children. Now, following yet more concerns about governance and management at Mermaids, the Charity Commission has stepped up its investigation further. This is good news. But many questions remain unanswered.
It is hard to keep track of the scandals that have engulfed Mermaids in recent months. In September, the Telegraph alleged that the charity was sending chest-binders to girls without their parents’ consent. Just days later, The Times raised questions about safeguarding on Mermaids’ online chatrooms. Children as young as 13 were allegedly being advised how to raise money for hormone-blocking drugs and how to take testosterone.
In October, it emerged that one of Mermaids’ trustees, Jacob Breslow, had spoken at a conference hosted by an organisation that promotes services for paedophiles. His presentation, which used the phrase ‘minor-attracted persons’, was accessible online – though presumably it was overlooked by those who appointed him trustee of a children’s charity. Just days later, news broke that a digital-engagement officer at Mermaids, Darren Mew, had posed for explicit nude photos for an online magazine. He had also shared sexualised pictures of himself dressed as a schoolgirl on a publicly accessible Instagram account.