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A WREXHAM woman has welcomed the Welsh Government s commitment to better representation for people with visible differences and disfigurements. The Welsh Government has signed up to the Changing Faces #PledgeToBeSeen campaign to ensure equal representation for people with disfigurements across Wales. Wales is the first UK public body to make the commitment. #PledgeToBeSeen was launched by Changing Faces to ensure that people with a visible difference, such as a scar, mark or condition that affects their appearance, are seen and heard across mainstream culture and in the workplace. The charity is calling on brands, companies and organisations to sign up and commit to representing more people with a visible difference. Make-up brand Avon was the first business to sign up to the pledge in 2019. They now feature models with visible differences in their advertising, as well as running internal training for their representatives across the UK.
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Video report by Clare McNeill
A young man who lives with a visible difference says that wearing a face mask has reduced the prejudices and cruel comments he experiences every day.
Atholl Mills, from the Scottish Borders, was born with a condition called cystic hydroma, which causes cysts to form where the lymph nodes are. It affects Atholl s left ear, jaw and neck.
During an operation to remove the cysts his facial nerve was severed, causing facial palsy - permanent paralysis on the left side of his face.
The 26-year-old says his visible difference often brought stares and cruel remarks. But ever since the coronavirus pandemic led to the widespread wearing of face coverings, he feels like he s treated like everybody else for the first time in his life.