Face Equality International
IFEW
Donate Members

Fear No Face

Halloween can be a challenging time for the facial difference community. Face Equality International have partnered with Sephora to promote more inclusive ways to celebrate.

Fear No Face

Halloween is a time of year where costumes and characters often mimic, mock or create ‘fear’ towards facial differences.  

Masks, prosthetics and makeup looks featuring scars, burns and other real-life conditions are marketed as ‘scary’, ‘spooky’, or ‘monster-like’ and this dehumanises the facial difference community. 

At this time of year, TV and phone screens, supermarkets and even our streets are flooded with this outdated narrative where disfigurement = evil, which teaches children to fear facial difference

As a marginalised community all too often facing injustice, hate crime, stigma and the associated mental health concerns, Halloween is often a time of increased anxiety, intrusive questions from strangers and bullying in schools.

Face Equality International x Sephora

We at FEI are partnering with Sephora UK to promote a more inclusive and respectful way to celebrate Halloween in a way which doesn’t need to cause harm or offense to minoritised communities. 

‘You don’t need a Halloween costume with a face like that’ is a taunt we’ve heard from many people living with facial differences. 

Donate to Make Face Equality a Reality

FEI and Sephora UK first partnered as part of International Face Equality Week 2024 and the My Face is a Masterpiece campaign.  

Sephora UK’s MySephora loyalty rewards gives customers the opportunity to earn points each time they shop. When customers have earnt a reward, they can choose to donate their reward to support Face Equality International.

Join MySephora

Face Equality International’s Position Paper, Visible Difference & Disfigurement in the Arts calls on the entertainment and creative industries for better representation of visible difference.

Characters with scars and other visible differences are frequently cast as evil villains, pitiful victims, and renegade vigilantes.

Perpetuating these negative stereotypes has serious consequences as people with visible difference navigate a world that has been taught to fear anyone who looks different.

You can sign our petition – ‘Tell Hollywood Visible Difference Doesn’t Equal Evil!’ here.

A Position Paper on Visible Difference & Disfigurement in the Arts

Visible Difference & Disfigurement in the Arts FINALDownload

 

 

Sign the pledge to show your support

    Please read our Privacy Policy here.

    Dating with a difference and the role of dating platforms

    Zoe Cross “People with a disability should use a specialist dating site for the disabled. Achieving positive date matching outcomes for people with a visible disability can be challenging.” This essentially was the message a female would-be customer of a dating portal received recently. The woman involved is a BBC journalist and a wheelchair user

    Read More

    Join the Fight

    Resource Hub

    Join Us

    Whether you are a potential partner, supporter or simply want to receive regular updates - we'd love to hear from you.

    Whether you are a potential partner, supporter or simply want to receive regular updates – we’d love to hear from you. Don’t forget to follow us on social media.

    Thank you for your interest and support.






      Please read our Privacy Policy here

      The mission of Face Equality International (FEI) is to mobilise the many groups and organisations, big and small, national and international, which support and represent people with facial differences and disfigurements and thereby to create the critical mass and solidarity needed to gain global attention for the campaign for face equality.

      About FEI

      Country spotlight: Face equality in Taiwan

      We’re proud to have worked so closely with the Sunshine Welfare Foundation, Taiwan, as Founder Members of Face Equality International and one of the first countries in the world to put on their own face equality event! Here, Sunshine share with us some of the challenges facing people with facial differences in Taiwan and how they are working hard to address them.

      Read More

      Facial Recognition Technology: friend or foe of the Facial Difference (FD) community?

      Background We hear from our community that facial recognition tech (‘FRT’) does not always work for them. Our 2024 community survey showed that people with facial differences report a range of difficulties with the technology, and the serious harms which can result. These can include difficulty applying for jobs, trouble accessing money through a banking […]

      Read More

      Becoming the Woman in the Portrait

      Melanie shares with us the impact of having her portrait photograph taken, touching on society’s views of difference, and how it feels to be truly seen. Photographer Martina Holmberg wins Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize 2025 with photograph featuring visible difference, a positive move for inclusion and representation in the arts.

      Read More
      ×