When Charity Goes Wrong, Ep. 3: Mermaids

This episode contains a reference to suicide in the first two minutes.

In November 2022, the transgender youth support charity Mermaids was in crisis. Caught up in a media storm over its chest binder service, compounded by internal governance and culture failings, a statutory inquiry was launched.

In the third and final episode of When Charity Goes Wrong, Lucinda Rouse hears from Lauren Stoner, chief executive of Mermaids, about the impact of the 23-month inquiry into the charity.

Mermaids service users Taylor and Oakley describe the realities of growing up as trans young people in a small town and the value to them of the charity’s youth advocacy network, Mango.

Shivaji Shiva, a partner at the law firm VWV, considers the side-effects of being under a regulatory inquiry and the specific challenges encountered by charities working in polarising cause areas. 

And the Charity Commission’s chief executive, David Holdsworth, outlines the role of the regulator when two charities are pitted against each other.

Written and presented by: Lucinda Rouse

Producer: Nav Pal

Executive producer: Ollie Peart

Art director: David Robinson

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