Former Mermaids CEO Susie Green blasts UK media for transphobic rhetoric: ‘They don’t care’

Former Mermaids CEO Susie Green has condemned the standards of ethical media reporting on the trans community in the UK, following the “frustrating” ruling over a Sunday Times article about her, and her family.

The 65-year-old trans activist and former chief executive of the pro-LGBTQ+ nonprofit told PinkNews that she believed certain news organisations “don’t really care” about the accuracy and ethics of reporting on trans people.

“A tiny proportion of the population just want to get on and live their lives and they’re constantly being held up to ridicule,” she said.

“It’s abusive, it’s horrible and it’s upsetting and distressing. And I’ve made it really clear that it hurts people.

“They’re just not taking any notice, they don’t really care as long as they can sell newspapers based on a few clickbait stuff, they don’t care.”

Green’s comments come in response to a ruling by the UK’s Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) regarding a complaint she filed against The Sunday Times in 2023 accusing it of breaching the Editors’ Code of Practice.

The Code of Practice is a set of guidelines established and enforced by the Press Standards regulator which aims to maintain a level of accuracy, ethics, and high standards in the UK media space.

Acting on behalf of her daughter, Jackie Green, Susie Green argued that a story run by the Rupert Murdoch-owned The Times, titled “The kid’s gender clinic that became a conveyor belt” had breached several clauses of the code.