How cosmetologists can help domestic violence victims
We will re-introduce legislation with bipartisan support that offers licensed cosmetologists the training and tools needed to recognize and respond to this domestic violence crisis.
Domestic violence, much like the coronavirus, is surging across the United States.
We all know that to stay safe we should stay at home as much as possible; however, for domestic abuse victims, safe at home doesn't always mean safer at home.
On a warm Thursday evening in October, in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, women and children staying at the Nashville-based Weaver Domestic Violence Center gathered in the shelter's courtyard for a vigil to honor those who have lost their lives to domestic violence.
Last month also marked the 20th anniversary of YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee opening this critical resource, which serves local victims and those from across the state and the Southeast region.
Now more than ever, the Weaver Center is a place of refuge, hope, and healing as our community and those around the state, nation, and world face the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and domestic violence.
Tennessee should join other states to provide new tools
In the first few weeks of the pandemic, the YWCA'S crisis line experienced a 55% spike in calls for help.
To date, calls have increased 30% over the same period last year. Not only have counselors at the YWCA and domestic violence services agencies across Tennessee responded to thousands of calls for help during these challenging months, they also are hearing reports of more severe physical and psychological cases of abuse.
Educating the community to recognize and respond to signs of domestic violence is crucial to domestic violence prevention. One group in a perfect position to spot domestic violence are practitioners in the cosmetology industry.
We will re-introduce legislation with bipartisan support in the upcoming 112th General Assembly session that offers licensed cosmetologists the training and tools needed to recognize and respond to this domestic violence crisis.
Once passed, Tennessee will join several other states, including Arkansas, Washington, and Illinois, in establishing this life-saving legislation.
Thousands of professionals have been trained nationwide
Domestic violence victims are tragically trapped with partners whose controlling, abusive, and often violent behavior is more effectively hidden during this extended quarantine. A trip to the salon might be the first opportunity for victims to confidentially share what is happening at home.
Already, thousands of beauty profes
sionals in Nashville and around the nation are trained and ready to respond when a victim sits down in their chair. That's because these practitioners have taken the Shear Haven training, a domestic violence education program cofounded by a constituent, Franklin resident and Nashville-based stylist and business owner Susanne Post, and YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee.
They've partnered with Wisconsinbased Barbicide to share the training on
the company's website. For the past three years, Post and the YWCA have worked to require this training for all licensed cosmetologists across the state of Tennessee.
The coronavirus pandemic makes evident the urgent need for this legislation. Domestic violence is often called the shadow pandemic. It is one of the most pervasive, yet underreported crimes in the nation.
One in 4 women will be a victim of
domestic violence in her lifetime. In the United States, three women are killed each day by an intimate partner. Tennessee currently ranks 9th in the nation for the rate at which men kill women. It is time Tennessee takes action to address this violent crime and public health emergency.
Rep. Sam Whitson, R- Franklin, and Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-memphis, serve in the Tennessee House of Representatives.