‘All human faces should carry equal value’
CHANGING Faces Channel Islands has united with 34 charities worldwide to campaign for International Face Equality Week.
Face Equality International is an alliance which launched in 2018 to represent people with facial differences and gain global attention toward their experiences.
Founded by Guernsey resident James Partridge, FEI offers a powerful, collective voice for those affected by facial difference.
FEI Director Mr Partridge said: ‘International Face Equality Week this year will be marked with many people around the world in lockdown, physically separated from their friends and loved ones.
‘Our intention throughout the week will be to make common cause with everyone as we endure this awful pandemic – those with facial differences and those without.
‘All human faces should carry equal value and we hope that this week will help to instil this “new” face value as part of the new normal as we emerge from the pandemic.’
Encouraging all people to participate in posting an ‘imperfect’ selfie creates greater understanding, awareness, and solidarity.
CFCI chair Jill Clark said ‘face equality is all about creating a world where everyone is treated with the same respect regardless of how they look’.
‘We are encouraging everyone to take a “less than perfect” selfie with the #FaceEquality tag and post this on social media challenging others to do the same.
‘Hopefully this is a simple thing to do during the lockdown.’
FEI highlights the prejudices experienced by people with facial differences, including health inequalities, online abuse and hate crime.
Campaigners offer hope to recipients of prejudice as they fight for facial equality across policy, the media, education and daily life.
Facial disfigurement is a neglected global human rights issue, whether congenital, related to trauma or an acquired condition. Those with facial differences report low self-esteem in the global ‘look-perfect’ culture, isolation, bullying, staring and questioning in public places.
Poverty, exclusion, low education expectations, problems getting employment, workplace discrimination, media abuse and media stereotyping are also experienced.
International Face Equality Week aims to reshape the narrative on life with facial differences by challenging misconceptions and sharing real-life stories.
In a globalised world which instructs people to look a certain way, it hopes to prove popular opinion wrong and show the world that you can be confident, proud, and, most of all, equal. No matter what your face looks like.
CFCI offer a Skin Camouflage service for local people living with facial differences.
Visit changingfacesci.org.gg/skin-camouflage/ for more information.
Visit faceequalityinternational.org for more details of FEI.
