According to Behindthechair.com, in 2016, Illinois passed legislation that requires all salon professionals to complete 1-hour training to learn how to spot domestic violence and sexual assault, and since then, 14 additional states have introduced or passed similar legislation.
The idea is that there is a very unique relationship between salon professionals and their clients, due to the personal nature of the services being performed, and many clients open up to their stylists about a variety of things in their lives. Salon professionals hold a unique standing, as they aren't a personal friend or family, but they aren't a complete stranger, either - especially if the client has been seeing the same stylist regularly.
The legislation varies in each location in the amount of training, as well as when the training is required, but they tend to emphasize for salon professionals to be capable of providing resources as necessary, and in many places, local professional groups have been involved in the writing of legislation to ensure the salon professionals are protected from liability.
Outside of location-specific legislation, the National Cosmetology Association - now the Professional Beauty Association (PBA) - has been running the Cut It Out program nationwide since 2003. They have since trained hundreds of salon professionals in how to properly recognize signs of abuse and safely refer victims to help.
In 2000, the National Violence Against Women released a survey based on results found in the US:
- 4.8 million women each year experience physical assaults and rapes by an intimate partner.
- 2.9 million men each year experience physical assaults by an intimate partner.
- 2 of 3 women who reported being raped, physically assaulted, or stalked since age 18 were victimized by an intimate partner or a date.
- 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men experience an attempted or completed rape at some time in their lives.
- More than half of all rapes of females occur before age 18; of these, 22% occur before age 12.
Professionals within the beauty industry have a real opportunity to make an impact in the fight against domestic violence!