Throughout Women’s History Month, Lucy Pastorelli Nails & Training, a woman-led business providing professional equipment and training to salons and nail technicians, supported Savera UK with a campaign raising awareness of HBA and harmful practices, and raising £460.50 for the charity.

Owner Lucy Pastorelli, learned about Savera UK’s work after seeing FGM survivor and Savera UK ambassador, Khatra Paterson, sharing her story and campaigning work in Olivia Attwood’s latest documentary series, The Price of Perfection.

Inspired by Khatra’s bravery in sharing her story, and recognising that many of their customers are beauty therapists who perform intimate treatments on women, Lucy and her team saw an opportunity to help them learn about and recognise FGM and other harmful practices.

Lucy said: “After hearing Khatra’s story, I was compelled to raise awareness of FGM within our industry. Throughout March we supplied over 900 custom drawn prints into salons not only in the UK but internationally, along with promoting the campaign on our social media platforms.

“The response from our customers was encouraging, and we hope this helped to create not only awareness, but also a safe space in salon environments for survivors. We are grateful for the opportunity to play a small part in what hopefully one day will be a world without harmful practices.”

Taking the words of a poem written collectively by Savera UK clients, who are all survivors of HBA and harmful practices, and commissioning artist Stephanie Jackson to incorporate them into a design celebrating women, the LP Nail team created an insert to be sent out with every order in March. The card shared information on HBA and harmful practices, signposting to Savera UK and a link to the charity’s learning hub, where more resources could be found.

The business also generously donated a percentage of all sales made in March to Savera UK, raising a fantastic £460.50.

Afrah Qassim, Savera UK CEO and founder, said: “The campaign created by the team at Lucy Pastorelli was so thoughtful and considered. For lots of women, beauty therapists might be a confidante and their salons a safe space to go, so helping them to be aware of HBA and harmful practices, and equipping them with signposting information is fantastic.

“To also incorporate our survivors’ voices into the campaign artwork made the partnership even more special. Thank you so much Lucy, Katie and all the LP Nails team, and of course to all their customers who made a purchase in March. Every single penny raised and every single person made aware of these issues helps us to keep working collectively towards our vision for a world without our HBA and harmful practices.”

To see more about the campaign click here.