Jamie is the Gay Star News Young Voices editor telling…
A UK trans charity is considering taking legal action against a UK newspaper after an article they have ‘huge issues with’, Gay Star News understands.
Mermaid CEO Susie Green tells GSN, ‘We are looking at an IPSO complaint and legal action.’
It’s after a The Sunday Times article this weekend. It reports the charity were banned by the High Court from any contact with a family after the mother ‘forced her seven-year-old son to live as a girl’.
Though Mermaids confirm they did support the mother during a court case; in a statement, they say they have ‘not been banned from contact with the child by the high court.’
Setting the record straight from their angle, the charity says in a Facebook update:
‘Mermaids were only directly referenced once during proceedings, to state that the mother had been receiving support from the charity… we have never received anything at all from the courts and fully respect the confidentiality of family law cases.’
Going on to say, how ‘disappointed’ they were to see the article after ‘informing the journalist of the above facts.’
They add, ‘while we appreciate that there is currently an interest by the media in transgender children; it is very unhelpful to publish an article which could undermine the only national charity supporting them.’

Trans activists take to social media
Subsequently, their supporters took to social media to reiterate, many using the hashtag #IStandWithMermaids.
Anti-bullying and trans activist Paris Lees tweets:
Shame on @mragilligan. You should be asking the teaching unions & government what they’re doing to help these kids, not going after Mermaids
— Paris Lees (@parislees) October 8, 2017
Moreover, Lees went on to call The Sunday Times ‘nothing short of evil.’
Notably, a raft of other supporters also took to social media to stand with the charity.
Fox Fisher who is working on a documentary about the charities work posts:
If @Mermaids_Gender had existed when I was growing up, my life would have been better, less lonely & isolating. I'm so pleased it exists.
— Fox Fisher (@theFoxFisher) October 8, 2017
Adding to the many voices, Sarah Lennox also shared support for Mermaids, also posting:
Worth a reminder – Telegraph apologises and pays damages over Andrew Gilligan’s defamatory story #IStandWithMermaids https://t.co/fhT8GF2LUp
— Sarah Lennox (@Sarah_LNX) October 8, 2017
The Sunday Times journalist who penned the piece about Mermaids Andrew Gilligan has also been facing critique with his other article in this weekend’s paper.
The Office for National Statistics says the Sunday Times journalist was wrong to suggest they will make the sex question in the next census voluntary.
The ONS has told Gay Star News, the article is inaccurate.
They tell us they have asked The Sunday Times and subsequent publications who picked up the story to correct their pieces.
Read more from Gay Star Students:
No, the UK government isn’t planning to stop asking people what sex they are