HAIR and beauty salon workers are to be given training to help them recognise the signs of domestic abuse.
A pilot programme at Ayrshire College in Kilmarnock will be launched in the new year with a view to it being extended to its Ayr and Kilwinning campuses.
It aims to make use of the relationship customers form with hairdressers and beauticians as a way to spotting people who are being abused.
Salon workers regularly come into close contact with their clients' hair, scalp and other parts of the body and so are ideally placed to spot the signs of abuse and offer support.
Furthermore, salons are one of the few places women with controlling partners are able to go on their own.
The scheme has been devised by Medics Against Violence (MAV) and will offer a class of hairdressers and one of beauticians advice on how to go about systematically recording signs of abuse, referring suspected cases and offering advise to abuse victims on how they can access support.
Dr Christine Goodall, an oral surgeon with MAV, said: "When a woman visits her hairdresser or beautician she's in quite a protected setting and her partner is unlikely to be present.
"Women also tend to go to the same hairdresser or beauty therapist; they know them well and will chat to them.
"Salon workers tend to be good communicators, so they really are in an ideal position to see the signs."
She added: "The most important thing to do if you see someone you suspect is a victim of domestic abuse is ask them about it ... [often] you dance around the issue and no one talks about it."
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