Meet Jill: World explorer. Avid reader. Fitness enthusiast. Lifelong learner who graduated at the top of her class with a master’s degree in nursing from one of Canada’s most competitive schools. Experienced healthcare provider who worked on the front line throughout the pandemic. Devoted daughter. Loyal friend.
And someone who experiences barriers and rejection daily.
By strangers who stop and stare in the grocery store. By patients who ask rude questions or refuse care from her because she looks different. By restaurant servers who ask her dining companions for her order. By bookstore cashiers who make fun of her birthmark - a characteristic, in her case, of Sturge Weber Syndrome.
“Some people say I shouldn’t let it bother me when people make comments. It never gets easier,” she says.
Jill is grateful for her union membership at work as it means “at least I can’t be dismissed without just cause.”
But the reality is - Jill’s human rights as a person living with a facial difference are not protected under Canadian law. She believes that her academic and professional opportunities have been limited because of her facial difference, but she has had no legal means of self-advocacy.
It’s long past time for this to change.
Let’s all do our part to challenge damaging assumptions, learn more about facial differences, and create welcoming, inclusive spaces for everyone.
Learn more about the No Difference campaign here.
