subject: Salon And Cosmetology Professionals Help Victims Of Domestic Abuse [print this page] Salon and cosmetology professionals are trained to highlight the way their clients look on the outside. In recent years, they have gone much further in uniting to make clients feel better on the inside by supporting the battle against domestic abuse.
For almost a decade, the Cut It Out program has raised awareness of domestic abuse and sought to bring help to victims in the salon setting. With the aid of Salons Against Domestic Abuse, Cut It Out has grown across the nation and internationally to Australia.
As the Cut It Out website at www.cutitout.org explains, Originally a statewide program in Alabama created by the Women's Fund of Greater Birmingham and the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Cut It Out trained over 500 Alabama salon professionals in 2002. As Grants Allocation Chair for this organization, Southern Living At HOME Founder and Executive Director Dianne Mooney envisioned a program that would reach nationwide.
During this time, the National Cosmetology Association and Clairol Professional had separately identified domestic abuse as an area in which both could make a difference. The three organizations formed a partnership to take Cut It Out national in March 2003.
Why salons? It only made sense because clients confide in and trust their hairdressers. Cut It Out is designed to build awareness of domestic abuse and train salon and cosmetology professionals to recognize warning signs and safely refer clients to helpful resources.
In 2007, Heidi Markow and the Beginning Over Foundation conducted the first Cut It Out seminar in Pennsylvania to TC Salon Spa in Bethlehem and to the Career Institute of Technology Cosmetology students.
As the Cut It Out program explains: The relationship between a client and a salon professional is usually based on trust built up over time. Because of the intimate and nurturing nature of the relationship, a salon professionalwho often sees a client on a regular basiscan often spot signs of physical abuse that others may never see. A change in a clients behavior can also be easily recognized by a salon professional.
Research shows that most battered women never call the police or go to a shelter. However, they do usually talk about the abuse with someone they trust. Because salon professionals are skilled and experienced listeners who are personally interested in their clients, many women suffering from abuse feel comfortable confiding in themeven if the abused women would never tell anyone else.
Domestic violence cuts across all socioeconomic areas, cultures and races. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is (800) 799-SAFE (7233).
Salons and cosmetology schools have shown for years they truly care about their clients, even before the Cut It Out program made it formal with a national program. The Gene Juarez Academy in Seattle, Wash., has stressed community outreach in the training of its salon professionals. Its students provide complimentary hair and nail services to those who are homeless, battling life-threatening diseases, underprivileged children, or are starting their lives over after years of domestic violence and/or substance abuse.
Its all in an effort to help others feel good about themselves while making a difference in the community, the academy explains.
