Who we are

We are a small but mighty group of campaigners, made up of carers, people with lived experience of an eating disorder with a huge amount of passion for change. We campaign daily for our loved ones, for those we have lost and for future generations. We have recently turned this into a Community Interest Company to help us to meet more people. 

Through the CIC we host two flag ship events each year (an eating disorder summit and the #DumpTheScales march), we hold the Secretariat for the All -Party Parliamentary Group for Eating Disorders and campaign for the rights of every single person effected by an eating disorder. 

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Over the last six years, #DumpTheScales has been run completely by volunteers but we need your help. 

Now as an established CIC, we are embarking on our biggest challenge yet - to raise £50,000 to fund a national Taskforce, our flagship events and our wider campaign work. 

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Why do we do what we do?

Eating disorders are among the most serious and life-threatening mental illnesses and have been overlooked and underfunded for far too long. Because of this, eating disorders have one of the largest treatment gaps in modern healthcare. The question must be asked: “Why, in the face of overwhelming need, are we still ignoring this crisis?”

In the past decade, we have seen an alarming rise in eating disorders, a trend that only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

What was already a struggling support system for those affected by eating disorders has collapsed under pressure. Too many people are waiting; too many are being failed and neglected by the system. This was a problem before the pandemic, and we can no longer hide behind COVID19 as an excuse for historically grossly underfunded treatment services. The public perception of eating disorders remains narrow but eating disorders don't discriminate and affect people of all ages, genders and ethnic backgrounds. They manifest themselves in many different forms. Binge eating disorder (BED) is now five times more common than anorexia nervosa and does not have dedicated NHS services.

 

Yet, the services and treatment pathways available do not reflect this growing reality. 

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Where will the money go?

1.  Funding our campaigning work in Parliament. You can find out what we are campaigning for here.  

2. Creating new reports to shape policy recommendations.

3. Developing Resources including information toolkits for schools and midwives, and toolkits to reach under-served communities. 

4. Organising outreach events which bring together people with lived experience, campaigns, carers, clinicians and researchers to discuss the big issues in eating disorders. 

5. Funding our annual flagship #Dump the Scales March.

6. Running the Secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Eating Disorders

7. Our annual Sector Summit.

8. The creation of our National Eating Disorder Taskforce.

9. Training for schools and workplaces.

10. Materials to support our lobbying. 

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