Stylist Crystal Roberts dries hair of a client at Hair, Wigs & Tan in Stafford County. She will be participating in the attorney general's training program for hair stylists to learn how to spot possible victims of domestic violence and refer them to help. van View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

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Program helps stylists identify domestic violence, refer clients to resources

Training seminar trains hairdressers to recognize signs of domestic violence.

By MARTY MORRISON

Date published: 11/14/2003

By MARTY MORRISON

AIR STYLIST C. J. Jerman feels a special bond with the clients who depend on her to shape a chic wedge cut or set a perm.

"We know when there's a wedding, a birth or death. We see their children grow up," said Jerman as she guided the finishing brush strokes through the hair of client Dale Willis of Stafford County. "Often, we hear more than a therapist."

That's why she's encouraging the other stylists in her Stafford County shop, Hair, Wigs & Tan, to attend a training seminar aimed at curbing domestic violence.

"Hairdressers can make a difference," Jerman said. "We are the last hands-on industry. We touch people in a way that only the doctor does anymore. Outside of the spouse and loved ones, no one gets that close."

That's a sentiment shared by Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, whose office has set up the regional sessions called "Cut Out Domestic Violence."

The local session will be held Monday at the Rappahannock Council on Domestic Violence office in south Stafford. It's one of nine workshops under way throughout the state. The National Cosmetology Association has adopted a similar effort through Salons Against Domestic Abuse.

Nancy Fowler, executive director of the Rappahannock Council, will conduct the two-hour session that gives hair and nail stylists information on how to recognize abuse. They get advice on how to talk to clients and refer them to resources that can help them.

Salon professionals aren't expected to double as domestic violence police, Fowler said. There's no mandatory reporting and neither are they encouraged to offer advice.

"Hairdressers have a unique opportunity to hear intimate details of a person's life," she said. "They may see bruises and make a connection. We're trying increase their awareness and comfort level so they can refer them to people who can help them."

Informational pamphlets will be placed in participating salons to offer resources.

Domestic abuse hits close to home for Jerman.

Her sister suffered spousal abuse, she said.

It's also a subject that's important to Jerman's associates.

Crystal Roberts, a stylist there for two years, said her mother had an abusive husband. Her co-worker, Travis Corker, said his mother also had an abusive husband.

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Date published: 11/14/2003