After being closed for 11 weeks because of COVID, hairdresser Zowie Evans is looking forward to welcoming people back to her Melbourne hair salon when she reopens next week.
For some of her clients experiencing family violence, she knows this could be the first time they've been able to speak to someone without their partner present in months.
"Hairdressing is usually a one-on-one service where their partners tend to leave them alone," she said.
During the pandemic demand for family violence services has increased.
Over the past two years between Melbourne's six lockdowns, Ms Evans said she has had more conversations about family violence than ever before in her 30-year career.
"With people being in lockdown there has been no escape," she said.
"There is definitely a higher level of anxiety and we've had to deal with a lot more conversations than we have had before."
'I didn't know what to do'
Ms Evans is still haunted by the first experience she had with a client who was likely experiencing domestic violence.
The woman was flustered after scratching her car when parking before the appointment.
"I tried to make light of the situation … she looked at me as if I was weird," Ms Evans said.
When the woman's partner came into the salon towards the end of the appointment, Ms Evans said the hairs stood up on the back of her neck.
"The woman froze, she looked terrified," Ms Evans said.
"I was really scared for her, I thought she was going to be beaten up when she went home but I didn't know what to do, so I did nothing."
Ms Evans felt powerless that day, so when she heard about a family violence training program for hairdressers she jumped at the opportunity to participate.
Since 2018, she has completed HaiR-3Rs (Recognise, Respond, Refer) twice, and says she now knows how to help.
"It's knowing what to say and what not to say, I have so much confidence now," she said
Whole community can respond
The HaiR-3Rs program was started by Eastern Domestic Violence Service (EDVOS) three years ago.
They wanted to give community members the skills to recognise signs of family violence and refer victims to services.
Trainer Mandy Hudson says salon professionals are uniquely positioned to help.
"Talk to any of them and they will go, 'People tell us everything'," Ms Hudson said.
"This training builds on their ability to respond."
The three-hour sessions begin by establishing a common understanding of family violence, before moving on to the three R's – recognise, respond and refer.
So far, EDVOS has trained more than 800 salon workers, primarily in Victoria.
By making the workshops available online Ms Hudson hopes more salons across Australia will be able to participate.
"It's not about making hairdressers counsellors," she said.
Anyone working in hair, beauty and personal care services can book into a live training session online.
The new website also has useful resources including information on specialist services and a directory where victim survivors can find HaiR-3Rs trained salons.
