Face Equality Week

That this House looks forward to celebrating Face Equality Week which will run from 16th May to 20th May; notes that the covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on those living life with a visible difference or disfigurement, with the charity Changing Faces reporting an increase in people who have experienced hostile behaviour because of their visible difference, from 2019 to 2021, rising from 34 per cent to 43 per cent; joins Changing Faces on calling for the public to better understand the negative impact that behaviours, like staring, can have on the mental health and wellbeing of someone with a visible difference or disfigurement; hopes that the charity’s Stop The Stare campaign helps prevent staring before it happens, and educates the public about how to react if they do catch themselves staring; and calls on the Government to join the growing movement of organisations who have committed to showing more positive representations of people with visible differences and disfigurements across popular culture, in business and positions of power, to help tackle the stigma and discrimination people are facing today.