Helping domestic abuse victims: all in a day’s work
Unfortunately, domestic abuse is something many of us have become all too familiar with. Countless women and children are subjected to violence within their own homes on a daily basis. Even worse, some of these victims are forced into silence, fearing retribution at their partner’s hand.
Domestic violence victims often don’t know where to turn for help. They may have controlling partners who put extreme restrictions on the everyday freedoms some women take for granted. Many victims are too afraid to seek help from the police or an abuse shelter.
This is where the program, Cut It Out: Salons Against Domestic Abuse, comes in. Cut It Out began as a statewide program in Alabama. By 2002, more than 500 salon professionals in the state had been trained to recognize signs of abuse and to connect domestic violence victims to abuse professionals. In 2003, the program went national. Today, salons across the country have access to Cut It Out’s domestic violence prevention specialists.
Cut It Out’s mission is to teach salon professionals to recognize the warning signs of domestic violence. Because of the close relationship some hairstylists enjoy with their clients, salon professionals can be an important lifeline in the fight against domestic violence.
Check out some of these websites to learn more about Cut It Out. If you ask me, this is just another reason to feel great about a career in the beauty and salon industry!
Visit Cut It Out’s website to learn more about domestic violence and to support its mission:
http://www.cutitout.org
Find a Cut It Out trainer near you with this list organized by state and city: http://www.cutitout.org/DVTrainerList.aspx
Here’s an article about how Cut It Out helped the stylists in one salon:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/nyregion/20salons.html?hp
Last updated by
at .Tags: Cut it out, Domestic abuse, Hair Dresser's
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Any time we can get the word out better and to more people, in an appropriate manner, is a good thing. It’s all a means to the same end – wiping out the cycle of abuse.
Stephanie Angelo
http://www.hressential.com