Page 18 - WMPF Federation Aug-Sept 2021-flip_Neat

Changing lives

Fund-raising officer

helps raise

awareness of female

genital mutilation

West Midlands detective has told of
her passion for helping to raise
A awareness of female genital
mutilation (FGM) and how she has raised
thousands to help the cause.
DC Gill Squires, who has been with the
Force for 28 years, started working in the
Public Protection Unit (PPU) as policy lead for
honour-based abuse, forced marriages and
FGM back in 2009.
Inspired by The Divinity Foundation, an
organisation she connected with to help
gain a better understanding of her role, the
mother-of-three has since been determined
to educate others on FGM and has even
climbed Kilimanjaro to raise funds to
support victims.
“ I didn’t realise the

impact going to

Kenya would have
on me. It’s really

hard to put into

words but it was
totally

overwhelming. “

“Meeting the team at The Divinity
Foundation has completely changed my life,”
says Gill, who first visited Kenya in 2016 to
support the charity and had visited every Gill on a trip to Kenya.
year since, until Covid-19 prevented her from that went around at work, asking if anybody scaled the mountain for The Divinity
travelling. wanted to climb Kilimanjaro, in Foundation and managed to raise £15,000.
“I didn’t realise the impact going to neighbouring Tanzania and raise money for These funds paid for an extension for the
Kenya would have on me. It’s really hard to a charity of their choice. rescue centre, which the charity named the
put into words but it was totally Gill and a team of others, known as the ‘Peaky Hut’, which meant they can now
overwhelming.” ‘Peaky Climbers’, including fellow police support more girls, of which many are
Her trip to Kenya came from an email officers, as well as medical professionals, victims of FGM, a procedure that involves

18 federation August/September 2021 www.polfed.org/westmids