WIRRAL hairdressers and beauticians are being invited to take part in a one-off training event to help spot the signs of domestic abuse.

Funded by Wirral Council, the informal training by Involve North West will be available to hairdressers, beauticians and other small businesses to raise awareness of the support that they can provide to survivors of abuse.

Jill Barr, domestic abuse consultant at Involve North West, told the Globe: “We wanted to engage members of the community who often work alone or in close quarters with their clients and colleagues, developing close friendships and real bonds with them.

“Often, these are the people who may notice signs that somebody is acting differently, being abused, or they may even hear of instances of abuse.

“It’s also about supporting small business owners in Wirral who may be worried about their employees experiencing domestic abuse.

"After all, domestic abuse is still one of the biggest causes for staff sickness, stress and loss of productivity in the workplace.

“The session is about offering people the knowledge of how they can help and what support is available in Wirral, so that people do not feel scared or overwhelmed with the worry of supporting someone who may be in an abusive relationship.”

The event will take place at St James Centre in Bikenhead, the event is an extension of the Wirral's Business Quality Mark for Zero Tolerance to Domestic Abuse project.

It will consist of a mix of informal training, advice and guidance about how to support staff, customers and community members who may be experiencing domestic abuse.

People will also be shown how to ‘signpost’ survivors to the specialist and localised support available across Wirral.

Cabinet member for children families and education and chairman of the Wirral Domestic Abuse Alliance Cllr Tom Usher said: “The training is a great opportunity for raising awareness of the support that is available for people who are experiencing domestic abuse, or worrying about someone who might be.

“There are many council services and local charities who can provide assistance to survivors in Wirral.

"We want more people to know about them.

"This training session is another example of how Wirral’s domestic abuse services are engaging with the community to say no to domestic abuse and show survivors that we are there for them.”

The free event will take place on Monday, July 1 from 11.30am until 2pm at St James Centre.

A light lunch will be provided and the event is open to men and women.

To attend, email Jill Barr at Involve Northwest at jillbarr@involvenorthwest.org.uk or call 0749 579 7477.