As we celebrate our second Face Equality Day, we are launching new research which reveals that less than a third of young people would be friends with someone with a disfigurement or visible difference, such as a mark or scar.
The report, Looking Different (PDF 3.3MB), includes a CHILDWISE survey of 1,500 young people across the UK aged seven to 17 years. Looking Different highlights that concerns about looks start early, with children as young as seven worrying about their own appearance.
We are warning today that in this environment, growing up with a disfigurement can be particularly tough.
Only two out of five young people feel confident about their appearance, and one in 10 say they are depressed about how they look.
The majority of young people say they have experienced nasty or negative comments about the way they look and most are made face to face (79%) by people at school (59%).
We are warning today that in this environment, growing up with a disfigurement can be particularly tough. Half of young people say they have witnessed negative behaviour towards a person with a visible difference, and more than a third admit to having acted in a negative way themselves. This behaviour is most likely to include staring at a person with a disfigurement or visible difference, pointing or saying something nasty to them, or taking a photo of them.