Vulnerable children are being referred to Mermaids by the Scottish NHS and police despite the transgender charity being under investigation over safeguarding concerns, The Telegraph can reveal.
Mental health services for children, gender identity clinics and Police Scotland’s suicide prevention guidelines are among those to offer endorsements of the controversial organisation and to provide information about how to contact the charity.
While Mermaids is not a registered charity in Scotland, meaning the country’s charity regulator OSCR has no remit over it, the Charity Commission in England and Wales has launched a probe following revelations around its dealings with children.
It followed an investigation by the Telegraph which showed Mermaids had been sending out potentially dangerous breast binders to children behind their parents’ backs and endorsing the use of puberty-blocking drugs.
The Scottish Government has previously refused to remove Mermaids from official schools guidance, which also states that the use of breast binders can have a “positive impact” on a child’s mental health.
Read more: NHS Scotland still sending children to transgender charity Mermaids despite safeguarding concerns
