Face Equality International
IFEW

When we started

Face Equality International is an alliance of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), charities and support groups which are working at national, regional or international levels to promote the campaign for ‘face equality’.

Our original aims

We aim to improve the life prospects of any person anywhere in the world who has a facial difference or disfigurement, an unusual-looking, scarred or asymmetrical face (or body) from any cause. 

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.

FEI will raise the profile of disfigurement and put the issues experienced by people with disfigurements on the agenda of the UN Convention for the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD), international bodies, companies and social media outlets.

Face Equality International is an alliance of NGOs/charities around the world that are supporting and representing people with many different disfigurements. Most of these NGOs are condition-specific (ie: for people with clefts, burns, cranio-facial conditions, psoriasis and other conditions) and their members have very different medical and surgical needs and treatments. But their members also face very similar psychological, cultural and social barriers to living fulfilling lives.

Many people report (and academic studies bear this out) feeling low self-esteem in the global ‘look-perfect’ culture, being isolated and friendless, facing teasing, ridicule and staring in public places, low expectations in school, problems getting work, discrimination in the workplace, abuse on social media and stereotyping in the media just because of the way they look. In many countries, disfigurement goes hand in hand with poverty, prejudice and exclusion.

Face Equality International will facilitate charities working together to tackle these injustices, will enable the sharing of best practice and be an incubator (capacity-builder) for NGOs to campaign for face equality and against disfigurement discrimination in their own settings. It will be a learning exchange and set global standards on how to challenge disfigurement discrimination (eg: at work) and promote face equality (eg: in schools). It will also co-ordinate an International Face Equality Week in May each year, the first one being successfully achieved in May 2019.

The alliance will make common cause with organisations and alliances representing other equality issues and diversity strands.

The vision of Face Equality International is that all societies across the world accept, respect and value people who have facial differences and disfigurements so that they can then lead the lives they wish unaffected by prejudice, low expectations and stigma.

What will Face Equality International do?

Face Equality International will:

The alliance will make common cause with organisations and alliances representing other equality issues and diversity strands.

Our immediate priorities

Face Equality International’s first actions will be:

Our long-term commitments

The plan is for Face Equality International will gradually expand:

Photograph courtesy of Changing Faces
Face Equality in Nepal – A Postcard from our Stigma Project

If we are to ensure Face Equality International is truly international, we must understand what the global need is for this movement and build the networks to ensure that we understand the real challenges when accessing equitable healthcare for the FD community, but most importantly, we must understand what the face equality movement looks like in low to middle income countries like Nepal.

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    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

    Face Equality in Nepal – A Postcard from our Stigma Project

    If we are to ensure Face Equality International is truly international, we must understand what the global need is for this movement and build the networks to ensure that we understand the real challenges when accessing equitable healthcare for the FD community, but most importantly, we must understand what the face equality movement looks like in low to middle income countries like Nepal.

    Read More

    FEI is recruiting volunteers

    The global movement for face equality continues to gather recognition and momentum. As a newly established UK charity, we are looking for two new recruits to join our team of face equality changemakers.

    Read More

    Disability History Month – Cultural Context: From USA to UK

    Clara delves into cultural context and disability history. Having grown up in the US and after a move to the UK, she shares experiences of the parallel movements.

    Read More