A new law was officially enacted on Sunday in Illinois to aid in the epidemic of domestic violence. The law us using hair stylists, barbers, cosmetologists, estheticians, hair braiders, and nail techs to use their trusted relationships with clients in order to prevent domestic abuse.

The law will require those that work in these fields to receive one hour of mandated abuse-prevention training, which will be a required part of the licensing process. However, it is important to note that the law does not require them to report any violence, and it shelters them from any liability. The training will simply provide these professionals with information about any local help and resources they can share with their clients. This is the first of its kind in the United States.

According to Vi Nelson, spokesperson for Cosmetologists Chicago, she believes that hairstylists may be the first line of defense when noticing signs of abuse, she says:

“Abusers tend to try to find places where it could be an accident or it’s not has visible. They may hit them in the back of the head, and there’s a bruise or a bump. The hairdresser is touching you and can see things that cannot be visible to the casual observer.”

Because some stylists develop lifelong relationships with clients, know many of their personal trials and tribulations because of these relationships, beauty salons for many people are considered a safe environment where many people open up.

State Senator Bill Cunningham was involved in making sure this law was passed because his wife , a former hair stylist, had customers who frequently shared incidents of domestic violence. Cunningham stated, “She had a difficult time dealing with these issues when they came up. She wasn’t sure what to tell her clients.”

We should note, this new law will not make a hair stylist a therapist; it simply is a way of connecting victims to the services needed for them to get help. The law was drafted with the help of Cosmetologists Chicago, who assisted in writing the law so that it did not require beauty professionals to become involved or report violence unless they felt obligated to do so.

If successful, this law could go on to be pushed to many other states. Some salon owners are already helping in the fight against domestic violence by placing business cards and resource information for anti-domestic violence groups within their salon.

Syllabus Magazine

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