Proposed law would help train cosmetologists to address domestic violence

NINA MOINI: I'm Nina Moini. You're listening to Minnesota Now, and we thank you for that. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is looking to push forward bipartisan legislation that would provide federal funding for domestic violence awareness training for cosmetologists and beauty professionals. Minnesota saw a record number of domestic violence homicides in 2023, and nearly 53,000 survivors received domestic violence services the same year. That's according to the most recent available data from Violence Free Minnesota.

Joining us to talk about the impact of this possible legislation is Jake Devara He's the associate director of Women's Advocates, an organization that founded the first domestic violence shelter in the country in 1974, right here in St. Paul, Minnesota. Thank you so much for joining us, Jake.

JAKE DEVARA: Happy to be here.

NINA MOINI: When I first heard about this-- I've heard about programs like this before. And I thought to myself, who among us hasn't found ourselves sharing a lot with people who are close to us, and we're connecting with them in these types of roles that cosmetologists and beauty professionals have. It's a very intimate setting, if you really think about it. Can you talk about some of these trainings that I understand that you've been providing since 2020 and why they're helpful?

JAKE DEVARA: Yes, of course. And it is a very particular setting. It's a third space. It's not at home with your abuser. It's not with your close friends, who might continue to be involved with the conversation. It's a limited space, where you might disclose something. You might get confessional, as you spend these sometimes two to three hours with an individual while you get your hair done.

And so we've always known that that's an essential site to intervene, to start bringing prevention materials and resources and trainings to workers in those settings. And since 2020, we've been doing those educational presentations, mostly online, to beauticians and hairdressers across the Twin Cities. And what those look like is we teach people what is domestic violence, what does it look like.

And that's one thing that we find out is so common people don't understand that domestic violence is more than just physical abuse. That domestic violence can be emotional manipulation. It can be financial control. It can be control of children. And all of those stories that these salon workers are hearing offer opportunities for them to intervene and say, this doesn't just sound like a toxic boyfriend, sounds like an avoidant boyfriend who might be an abuser. And give them materials on how to get out of those abusive situations.

NINA MOINI: So important. Thank you for mentioning just the wide scope of what falls under domestic violence, truly. What are some of the signs, though, that you are telling these people working in salons to be the lookout on the lookout for? Is it like certain words that would pique their attention? Or what does the training entail, I suppose?

JAKE DEVARA: Specifically, we look for things like control of finances. If that person came in and she has to pay with cash because her boyfriend has a credit card, that's a key indicator that someone's controlling their finances. Another one is look for signs of isolation. Is this woman isolated in her relationship? Does she talk about limiting her contact with her families or having fewer friends.

All of these things can indicate that you are one of the few people she's disclosing to, and that is also a sign of abuse. We also encourage people to just keep an eye on any time a client might be talking about having a toxic relationship. Oh, my relationship is so toxic. Oh, he did this and this other thing. Because as a culture, we use those terms like, oh, I'm in a toxic relationship, I'm in a dramatic relationship, to cover up really problematic behavior that very well might be abusive.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. And so what is there-- or is there a lot of buy in from cosmetologists who have been on that side of the chair and heard these stories? and what are you hearing from them?

JAKE DEVARA: I think that there has been increasing-- when people come to these trainings, they start realizing that the stories they hear could be stories of someone who's in a dangerous situation. I think before these trainings, they don't always have the tools to recognize how much of the information that is disclosed to them could or should result in the person calling a crisis line, talking to friends and family about their experience, and should at least be given some resources around domestic violence.

So I think the importance of these trainings and expanding these trainings to all cosmetology students is that they don't have that information right now. And once they get it, they realize how prevalently they hear stories of abuse. They just didn't have the tools to recognize it beforehand.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. Let's talk more about that idea of a federal funding and this particular legislation. What is your hope? Why do you think it's necessary or valuable to have some federal funding come into this effort?

JAKE DEVARA: Well, as a society, we need to normalize talking about abuse. I think within groups of men and groups of women, we've normalized talking about our relationships. We talk about our relationships in those groups a lot, whether with a cosmetologist or another service professional.

But what we haven't normalized is intervening in those conversations with facts that, oh, what you're describing is actually abusive behavior. Here are some resources for you to learn more about that. And that is what we need to normalize.

And that's what this bill moves towards, is saying that we're going to have a set standard across the country that people in these service professions are going to learn about the facts of domestic violence so they might start recognizing them in the population they serve. And that's just something we need to be doing as a society. We need to be talking about domestic violence more so we recognize it more often.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. So how did you all set the criteria for how you do the training? Because I'm sensing that if there was more funding and support behind it, there would be like a best practices that everybody would follow, and maybe it's a part of their schooling. But how did you all set your training up?

JAKE DEVARA: So Women's Advocates' education department has been doing training since 2020. We have a core training of four different trainings that go over what is domestic violence, what does it look like, the connection between domestic violence and homelessness, and what the warning signs are of domestic violence. And we can do one of four trainings, or we can do all four trainings for salons who are interested. And that's an internal curriculum that we developed specifically to get the word out and make sure people know what domestic violence is so we can intervene before it becomes dangerous.

NINA MOINI: And in the time that you've been doing the training, five years or so, have there been stories of people who've implemented this training and gone on to really help somebody who was in a bad, dangerous situation?

JAKE DEVARA: We've heard a lot from our trainings in general. Yes, we've gotten that feedback. And what more often happens, I would say, is that the people who enter our trainings suddenly are looking at the relationships all around them differently, not just their clients necessarily. They're realizing that, hey, my uncle, my cousin, my neighbor down the street, I'm seeing some of these characteristics and those relationships, or even I'm seeing some of these characteristics in my own relationship, and I really need to reflect on that and what that means to me. So I think it's a holistic approach that, yes, these resources can trickle down and help that client who is in need. But it's also about creating an atmosphere where you are aware and alert to the relationships around you and are able to identify and point out things in that relationship that might be abusive.

NINA MOINI: And before I let you go, Jake, I'm curious where you would direct people who, outside of this setting that we're talking about in this training, but just generally, where would you advise someone to go first if they're looking for resources on how to maybe approach somebody in their life, a loved one who they feel might be experiencing domestic violence?

JAKE DEVARA: Well, we have over 100 hours of trainings on our website at wadvocates.org, or if you want us to do an in-person or virtual training for your salon or business, you can email us at education@wadvocates.org. If you're in a dangerous situation and need help, I encourage you to call the Day One Crisis Line.

NINA MOINI: Jake, thank you so much for filling us in about your efforts. I really appreciate your time.

JAKE DEVARA: Thank you so much.

NINA MOINI: That was Jake Devara, the associate director of Women's Advocates. Again, if you or someone is in a dangerous situation with a partner, there is a 24-hour statewide domestic and sexual violence hotline. You can call Minnesota Day One at 866-223-1111, or text 612-399-9995. And we'll have those resources on our website, nprnews.org