Help Us Cut it Out
As a survivor of many forms of abuse, I think the following information is important to share. I have been a member of the National Cosmetology Association, now the Professional Beauty Association, since 1986. I would like to introduce you to our connection to a national program called Cut It Out−Salons Against Domestic Abuse.
Cut It Out began as statewide program in Alabama created by the Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham and the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Cut It Out trained more than 500 Alabama salon professionals in 2002 to recognize the signs of domestic abuse and what you can do to safely refer clients to local resources.
That was a great start, but Southern Living At Home Founder and Executive Director Dianne Mooney envisioned a program that would reach nationwide. The NCA and Clairol Professional had separately identified domestic abuse as an area in which both could make a difference. Partnering with Cut It Out, the three organizations took the program national in March 2003.
Please check out the Cut It Out website at www.cutitout.org,where you’ll find more information like:
What Is Domestic Abuse?
- A pattern of violent and coercive tactics committed by one intimate partner against another.
- A pattern of controlling behavior that consists of physical, sexual, and/or psychological abuse or assaults
- A learned pattern of behavior.
- A behavior that impacts all those around the adult and child victim: family, friends, and co-workers.
While most perpetrators are men, it is important to remember that most men are not perpetrators.
What Are the Characteristics of a Perpetrator?
- Perpetrators of domestic abuse are in all socioeconomic groups, cultures, and races.
- 97% of victims of domestic abuse are female and their perpetrators are male.
- Domestic abuse does occur in same-sex relationships, and in a small percentage of heterosexual relationships where the female is the perpetrator.
- Perpetrators believe that they are entitled to own their partner and that love is about ownership and possession. They use this entitlement/ownership belief system to justify their abusive actions.
- Perpetrators believe that in a relationship setting, they must have absolute control over their victim.
Some Domestic Abuse Statistics:
- A woman is battered by an intimate partner every 15 seconds in the United States.
- More than half of female victims of intimate violence live in households with children less than 12 years of age.
- 31% of women report being physically abused by an intimate partner at some point in their lives.
- Four women in the United States are murdered each day by a male intimate partner.
(Source: www.cutitout.org)
The Cut It Out website states that 1 out of 3 people suffer abuse. Speaking from experience, I believe the percentage is higher than that. For I was the type that never talked about it; I was too busy carrying someone else’s guilt and was ashamed of what I was living. Always wondering, how did I get here? I did not want anyone to know my secret.
Please help us Cut It Out by sharing my website link with your contacts to help those too ashamed to talk about it. You never know who that 1 out of 3 could be. Perhaps this discrete avenue for help is the beginning of their journey of crawling out.
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Post by Casey Morley – I have emerged from a life filled with abuse and chronicle my journey in my my book,Crawling Out, due to be published soon. I hope by sharing my story I can help other victims of domestic violence realize that they too, can start their own journey of crawling out – and that they don’t have to walk alone. I am also the owner of Casey’s Image Consultants, and a Certified M’lis Wellness Consultant offering Lifestyle Change Programs for detoxifying the body. I am dedicated to helping people improve their appearance and overall health from the inside out.
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