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Cutting out domestic abuse through awareness campaign

A woman who founded a support service called Surviviors of Domestic Abuse has started a pilot scheme in Halesowen designed to train hairdressers, barbers and beauty professionals in recognising the signs so that they can help victims.

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Founder of SODA Sam Billingham with, from left: town ambassador Ellie Hunt, town centre manager Vicky Rogers and co-owner Rhianna Hinton, at Elle Rhi, Halesowen

Mother-of-one Samantha Billingham, from Quarry Bank, has joined forces with Halesowen town centre champion Vicky Rogers to promote the Cut It Out campaign.

Eventually the 41-year-old hopes to roll out the training across the Midlands.

Samantha said: "We hope to raise awareness of domestic abuse and Surviviors of Domestic Abuse (SODA) helps support victims and signpost where they can seek help.

"I set up SODA in 2009 and have arranged to visit about 15 premises with the help of Halesowen Business Improvement District.

"Training takes place over one day and we hope to explain how people involved in the beauty industry can recognise the early warning signs and how to respond and to enable them to safely signpost victims to places such as Black Country Women's Aid or men's services or the police.

"Since the pandemic we have seen an increase in calls across the Dudley Borough.

"Now, as the lockdown is slowly being lifted, it is important that we put this vital campaign in place because it will help at all stages of a victim's journey.

"It is as simple as staff believing, responding and referring clients to specialist services.

"Although we are piloting this in Halesowen town centre eventually, if it proves successful, we hope to role it out across the Midlands.

"The Cut It Out campaign was originally launched by Northamptonshire Police when a young woman confided in her hairdresser that she was a victim of domestic abuse but a short time later her abusive partner stabbed her to death.

"The aim of the campaign is to empower hairdressers, barbers and beauty professionals to be able to identify early warning signs of domestic abuse within their clients and to be able to safely signpost them to specialist services."

Vicky Rogers, aged 42, from Halesowen BID, said: "We have joined forces with SODA to launch the Cut It Out campaign and will be visiting personal care businesses, beauty therapists and tattooists to get the message across that they might be told or spot the signs of domestic abuse."