NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 20 people per minute are abused by an intimate partner. However, experts say community support can be key to breaking the cycle of abuse.
It’s led to a national push — stemming from a Tennessee initiative — that looks to hair salons as a potential safe haven.
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“I just want them to always know that it is a safe space and they can trust us,” licensed cosmetologist Dana Erwin said.
Inside Haven Salon, located in Franklin, you’ll find decades of experience behind the salon chair. It’s where long-lasting relationships are formed, and often it’s the type of relationship many clients need. The bond grows stronger every time a client spends time the chair.
“Over the course of many years with our clients, we hear sometimes the best seasons of their lives, sometimes the hardest seasons,” Susanne Shepherd Post, co-founder of Shear Haven explained.
Post wants licensed hair stylists to be prepared for all clients’ difficult seasons.
“Sitting in your stylist’s chair, you feel safe. We have this calming effect on people because they trust us to touch, they trust us with their hair. It’s more of a soft, comfortable relationship to open up,” licensed cosmetologist Haley Seaman said.
It’s part of Shear Haven’s initiative borne out of the Nashville YWCA. The initiative is meant to help train beauty professionals on signs of abuse and how to respond.
“It doesn’t matter where you are from or what your occupation is you still have the ability to be hurt or abused and we do such a wide range of people, we do services on them,” Erwin said.
As of publication, Tennessee is one of three states with laws requiring licensed cosmetologists to go through training to spot signs of domestic violence. Arkansas and Illinois have similar requirements.
“I had a lady recently who didn’t want to talk about why she had a bruise on her face,” Seaman said. “She was like, ‘That’s a whole other long story that you do not want to hear about.’ So I’m like ‘Okay, now I know to file that away in my mind and to softly ask her questions,?'”
The goal is to expand the training to other states. In 2024, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced bipartisan legislation called the “Salons Stories Act.”
The bill would have offered federal funds to states that require domestic violence awareness education for anyone becoming a cosmetologist or barber. However, the legislation wasn’t able to get the necessary support. Blackburn is hoping for another change this year.
“I also know that it’s incredibly under-reported because so many people may never feel comfortable going to law enforcement,” Post said. “Having an additional safety net of people in any community that is armed with the resources and the knowledge that allows them to safely navigate conversations could really be the difference between life and death in many people’s lives.”
The proposal is modeled after a 2022 Tennessee program that offered training to over 50,000 beauty professionals to recognize signs of abuse. The program also taught licensed cosmetologists how to respond to the signs and what resources are available to victims.
“I’ve been there, I know how isolating it is and how that shame can stop you in your tracks when it comes to moving out of a relationship, so I think this has the power to be incredibly impactful in the community,” Post said.
“Domestic violence is a tragic epidemic in the United States, impacting millions of women every year who often suffer in silence,” Blackburn said in a statement. “Given their close relationship with their clients, beauty professionals have the unique opportunity to be a first line of defense against domestic violence by identifying the signs of abuse and helping victims and survivors escape dangerous situations. The SALONS Stories Act would help save the lives of vulnerable and isolated women across the country, and the nation should follow Tennessee’s lead by equipping cosmetologists to recognize and support victims of domestic violence.”
View the full bill text here.
