Disability rights continue to lag behind other equality movements worldwide. Disfigurement rights have an even more uncertain position, sometimes included in disability rights law, but often not explicitly. This article describes the efforts of Face Equality International to end "face-ism" worldwide, and how healthcare and mental health providers, community developers, and educators can engage to move this vision forward. Beyond medical and surgical treatments, mental health needs, societal, and legal barriers must be addressed. We call for strong and explicit legal protections for disfigurement. Culturally appropriate public education to counteract stigma is crucial in shaping an inclusive and sustainable environment for people with disfigurements.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.