Cut It Out campaign

The Cut It Out campaign is aimed at hair and beauty professionals and the wider public as part of its priority to tackle domestic abuse. It recognises that a hairdresser, barber or beauty therapist is in a position of privilege with their client, not only working physically close to them but also very often, they are someone trusted to talk to or confide in.

The Cut It Out brand originated in Norwich, Norfolk, following a tragic murder. In 2017, weeks after confiding in her hairdresser Annie Reilly, Kerri McAuley was killed by an abusive partner. As a result of this, the campaign, which has since seen success in Rochdale, and Northants was developed.

Domestic abuse affects thousands of people in the county every year: 16,139 incidents of domestic abuse were recorded between September 2017 and December 2018 and 4.6% of these incidents had a sexual element. In the UK, 25% of women and 17% of men will experience some form of domestic abuse at some point in their life. Domestic abuse is about much more than physical violence and there’s a lot of help available for those experiencing it. 

Training sessions

As part of the Cut It Out campaign we are hosting free training to help professionals spot signs of domestic abuse with their clients.

The half-day session will be held on two dates at the Melton Borough Council Offices on Burton Street, LE13 1GH for local hairdressers, barbers and beauty professionals who work 1-2-1 with clients. Both sessions cover the same training so only one session in necessary to get the full training.

The session will involve:

• Equation providing a 90-minute training session on domestic abuse. Their aim is to equip you with the knowledge to understand more about domestic abuse and recognise possible signs that someone needs help, so that clients can get support and advice, should they want it.
• Mental Health Friendly Places project providing training on healthy conversation skills to help boost practitioners’ confidence in having difficult conversations with clients.

We will be running two of these sessions on:

• Monday 17 March, 1:00pm-4:30pm.
• Monday 31 March, 1:00pm-4:30pm.

If you are interested in taking part in the free training session, and would like to sign up for one (or both) then please email communitysafety@melton.gov.uk to book your space.