It has been discovered that a police force under pressure to look into the contentious transgender children’s charity Mermaids got “trans awareness training” from the group.
Mermaids, a West Yorkshire-based company, revealed in 2019 that it gave certain Merseyside and West Yorkshire police officers “support training.”
The information was revealed a few days after Prime Minister Liz Truss seemed to support requests for the authorities to look into the Mermaids because of safety concerns.
Mermaids has been under heightened attention recently after allegations that the company supplied “breast binders” to children without their parents’ knowledge.
A board member of the organization resigned as well after speaking at a conference sponsored by a group that advocates for assistance for pedophiles.
Additionally, it has been claimed that the organization’s internet support center has been advising teens that hormone-blocking medications are secure and “completely reversible.”
Following complaints from Mermaids personnel regarding remarks made against them on social media, West Yorkshire Police has opened a number of hate crime investigations recently.
Police, meanwhile, have declined to say if they would look into MPs’ expressed concerns about child safety.
According to the Telegraph, the police reportedly neglected to confirm if it continued to get instruction from Mermaids, casting doubt on its objectivity.
According to lawyer Laura Farris, a Tory MP for Newbury, “it is vital that any inquiry be seen to be objective and transparent given the significant claims of child protection failings made against Mermaids in recent weeks.”
Julie Cooke, who was then the assistant chief constable of the Merseyside Police, officially started the 2019 training session.
However, pictures of the seminar’s presentations from February 2019 were mocked on social media.
Where on the spectrum may your gender identification be? was written next to a slide that showed a gender identity “spectrum” with a Barbie doll at one end and a GI Joe toy at the other.
Another graphic, which was allegedly shown during the training, read: “Your sexuality is who you go to bed with.” Who you go to bed as depends on your gender identity.
Someone another said indignantly, “This is incredibly sexist and has NO BASIS IN SCIENCE.” Why is this being done with public funds? It is similar to supporting religious indoctrination.
Another added: “They’re simply making it up as they go along, utter rubbish,” while a third agreed.
MPs called for the police to intervene due to worries about the safety issues expressed around Mermaids.
Miriam Cates, a Tory representative for Penistone and Stockbridge, asked the prime minister whether she agreed that it was “high time” for the police to start looking into the charity during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday in the Commons.
Mermaids have had unrestricted access to vulnerable youngsters for years, despite whistleblowers voicing concerns, Ms. Cates said in the Commons.
Do you think that it has taken too long for these concerns to be addressed seriously and that it is time for a police probe into Mermaids’ actions, my right honorable friend (Liz Truss)?
The prime minister said, “It’s crucial that young adults may make their own decisions and aren’t coerced into participating in any activity. What I would say about the inquiry she brings up is that such issues should, of course, be brought up and carefully investigated.
After receiving many complaints, the Charity Commission started a regulatory compliance probe into the organization. This is only the regulator’s first step and is not an admission of guilt.
The Rowes have requested that the Church of England (CoE) discontinue its transgender policy covering its schools in an open letter to the archbishop.
Concerns have been brought up with us concerning Mermaids’ approach to protecting young people, according to a commission spokesman. We have written to the trustees and launched a case for regulatory compliance. We are presently awaiting their response.
‘Mrs Cates’ sentiments against LGBT organizations are well-documented, and this is not the first time she has criticized Mermaids,’ a spokeswoman for the organization told MailOnline. Through the Charity Commission and other authorities, we will continue to provide vital assistance to trans and gender-diverse young people and their families while maintaining our accountability to our service users and the general public.
While this is going on, the Department for Education (DfE) has stopped endorsing Mermaids as a mental health and wellness resource for schools, and advocacy organization Christian Concern has started a fresh petition to the archbishop demanding that trans guidelines be removed from CoE schools nationwide.
It happened after the court triumph of Christian parents Nigel and Sally Rowes against the DfE, which resulted in a $22,000 compensation for legal fees and a pledge from the government to change its trans policy.
When the Rowes and their six-year-old son were accused of “transphobia” by a CoE primary school for opposing transgender affirming policies, they filed legal action against the department.
The parents of two boys who withdrew them from an Anglican school on the Isle of Wight over its treatment of transgender students accused CoE schools of “violating the clear guidance” from the Attorney-General by “forcing children to affirm the acquired gender of fellow pupils and failing to require basic steps to be taken to keep children safe” in an open letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
They said that the “Valuing All God’s Children” (VAGC) advice was used to “dismiss and shut down their objections” when they complained to the CoE’s Portsmouth Diocesan Board of Education in 2017 about the impact of allegedly “radical transgender ideology” at the school.
The Church of England’s anti-bullying guideline for schools, Valuing All God’s Children, is not “Mermaids-influenced,” a representative for the organization told MailOnline.
“Mermaids had no input or role in the development of the advice, which was released in 2017.
“The Government issued a list of organizations working in this field as an annexe to the first copies of the guidelines.
Although it was stressed in the text that the Church of England could neither support or suggest any organization as a resource, the annexe was also deleted three years ago to prevent any potential for confusion.