Florida enlists hair stylists to help stop domestic violence
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — In an effort to combat domestic violence, Florida’s attorney general is enlisting the people in the best position to notice bruised faces, broken fingers or bumpy scalps — hairstylists, nail technicians and cosmetologists.
Charlie Crist announced Tuesday that his office is starting an initiative, with help from the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, that will train salon workers to look for signs of domestic abuse so they can provide pamphlets explaining where women can seek safe shelter. Emery boards printed with a toll-free number that women can call for help also will be distributed to the salons.
The regularity of women’s visits and an atmosphere of intimacy that exists in many hair salons makes them a natural places to educate women who may be facing domestic violence, Crist said after announcing the initiative at Profiles Salon in Orlando.
“Many times that relationship can be one of the strongest relationships that exist outside the family,” Crist said. “For most people, I think, the person who they let cut their hair, they’ve been doing it with the same person for a long time.”
There were 120,000 reported cases of domestic violence in Florida last year.
The initiative, which is modeled on a program in Virginia, is expected to cost about $75,000 with most of the expense coming from mailing out letters and pamphlets to Florida’s 8,000 licensed hair salons. Trainers from area shelters will come to the hair salons to train the stylists on what are signs of domestic violence.
“Bruises, kinds of controlling behavior such as not being allowed to have a checkbook, not being allowed to drive, not being allowed to have a credit card, being socially isolated,” said Therese Murphy, community relations manager for Harbor House, an Orlando shelter for battered women. “They’ll understand how to approach women and give that information in a way that is safe.”
The hair stylists, nail technicians and cosmetologists won’t be encouraged to counsel domestic abuse victims or force them to take any steps but merely provide them with information, said Tiffany Carr, executive director of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
“The curriculum teaches them how to listen, how to give information, not to intervene, because that feels like a lot of pressure for people,” Carr said.
June Peterson, a hair stylist at Profiles Salon, who has been working in Orlando for 20 years, said she once helped a client find a shelter for battered women.
“We get pretty personal about our conversations,” Peterson said while putting a highlights in a customer’s hair. “You spend a lot of time, very close to your clients … I have good feeling about what’s going on with my clients, whether they’re in a good mood or something is wrong.”