15 Square 2020 A Year In Review

So what have we done this year?

15 Square and Covid 19

We have managed to continue working throughout the pandemic to provide support for more men and boys than ever before, helping to prevent unnecessary circumcisions. With the pandemic shutting down all non-urgent surgeries we have received more enquires regarding phimosis, and our medical referrals have hit an all-time record!

It has not been an easy task to deal with this increased workload as all charities have been hit hard this year as fundraising has become even more difficult. The charity sector is overstretched and underfunded but we make the most of all donations and subscriptions to continue our important work.

Membership numbers

We are delighted to see that have had lots of new members, subscribers give 15 Square the means to provide more direct support to those harmed by circumcision, and work towards progressive change.

Click here to join us as a member! This year, our Annual General Meeting took place on Zoom, and this allowed members from across the world to listen to our conference and our guest speakers on the issues important to us all.

Our ambassador Lesley Robert’s graciously gave her time to present the tragic story of Alex Hardy. Alex was Lesley’s beloved son who took his own life after he reluctantly underwent a medical circumcision. Sadly, he is not alone, but his legacy has led to more men finding the information and support that they need as they too realise they are not alone. Lesley’s dedication to ensuring Alex’s memory is both awe-inspiring and heartbreaking. Nobody who has heard Lesley speak could deny how truly impactful Alex’s story is. We feel very privileged to have her as our ambassador, and Alex’s story is a reminder of how important our work is to help men who have been psychologically affected by an unwanted circumcision.

We will be sharing Lesley’s presentation once editing is complete so that everyone will have the opportunity to learn more, and to help fulfil the last wish he made: to ensure that his story is heard.

International Coalition

We have began working with many organisations that share our common cause. This has helped us to increase the impact of our work, to educate the world on intact care, and to reach more men in need of support than ever before. Thank you to our partners and social media followers who have helped by sharing 15 Square’s message and information.

You can find video presentations from our international coalition here, or click the image below for 15 Square’s presentation

Academic partnership and placements

We have had really successful placements with Keele Interns this summer that have helped our charity grow professionally. The students and graduates that Keele University produces are 1st Class! This has helped 15 Square charge forward in a very short amount of time.

Awards

15 Square are proud to announce that we were shortlisted for Keele Universities: Breaking The Mould award this year. Whilst we did not win our category (this time!) It has still been one of the best years in our history as we update our methods, reach out to more people, and take on more projects.

We are incredibly proud to have made the shortlist, and we wholeheartedly congratulate the winners this year – Find out more here.

Moving forward:

Currently, we are updating all of our publications with full citations from medical journals to ensure we deliver the best quality information. As well as producing information on the side effects, alternatives, and the clinical guidelines regarding circumcision, we are still working on our psychological recognition and support projects, and education resources for boys.

We will soon be launching our huge fundraising project to help us complete our projects and ensure we can sustain this growth to achieve more for our members in the coming year. Please keep an eye on your email and our social media channels to see when it launches.

The publications we are producing will be part of our new strategy to help medical institutions improve their policies on circumcision, and we will be using our international network of advisors, allies and associates to share this information far and wide.

How is 15 Square increasing their work output so dramatically?

Well, we are proud to welcome 11 extra members to our team, adding to the previous 3 that joined us this year. We now have the experience of sociology, psychology, politics, ethics and medical professionals

On top of this, our efforts to forge alliances with other organisations have been part of our new future change strategy.

It’s great to see our humble charity growing, and it is becoming more and more clear how much our work is needed to work towards a better, more informed future.

Starting next year, we are hoping to release a video diary series with the stories that men have sent in. The first hand experiences of men are the indisputable pieces of data that prove how bad psychological damage from circumcision can be. We hope that one day it will be more thoroughly researched, but gravity existed long before Newton, and circumcision trauma can not be disputed.