Social Media Buzz: Hairstylists learn to 'Cut Out' domestic violence
Didn’t we say that ANYONE can contribute towards ending domestic violence? PixelProjectrecently posted this link on Twitter which talks about how hairstylists are now learning to ‘cut out’ domestic violence.
The Young Women’s Christian Association(YWCA) in Toledo, Ohio, held a ‘Cut It Out’ programme for budding hairstylists which provided them with information on how to recognise the signs of physical abuse in their female clients who may be victims of domestic violence. The programme is just another feather in the cap of The Salons Against Domestic Abuse Fund which has been holding seminars nationally to train the to-be professional hair stylists. We have, in the past, blogged about how U.S. hair stylists are being trained to spot domestic abuse. You can read it here.
It’s a known fact that women, more often than not, choose to hide acts of violence committed on them by their partners. Beauty salon visits, not surprisingly, allows them to interact with their peers in the society and talk about issues which they may otherwise not speak openly about. So training the salon professionals into recognising sings of abuse could go a long way into curbing down the statistics of domestic violence. As Laura Kobek, YWCA’s Director of Crisis Services explains, "This will help them (salon professionals) to know what the resources are, learn how to talk with women, because when women are having our hair done, we feel vulnerable. We trust our cosmetologist and we might share things we don’t share with anyone else. So this will teach them the skills of listen and referral."
Stylist Amanda Groves says, "We are like therapists and that puts us in the perfect position to help people in danger."
"They trust these women with their deepest darkest secrets. It’s just a natural progression before they start to talk about the domestic violence," says Kathy Lind a crisis service coordinator. She also lists down some signs of physical abuse that hair stylists can detect like "Nail breakage, bruising around the scalp, braids that have been removed gashes to the head."
This programme is just another reminder of the fact that domestic violence concerns one and all and therefore, each one of us needs to take some sort of step in our lives to contribute to this cause. Hair stylists are ringing the bell. When will you?
Picture Courtesy: http://www.cutitout.org
Tagged domestic violence
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