‘Everyone just wants to be loved’: the New Zealand barber helping cut domestic violence

Abstract

There are the hardened criminals. The patched gang members. The older men who watched their father beat their mother before turning on them. The young boys whose mothers drink and tell them they are unwanted. The alcoholics, the drug addicts, the gamblers.

They all take their seat in New Zealand barber Matt Brown’s chair. And they talk. And Brown listens, offers advice and support where he can and, hopefully, help his customers turn their lives around.

“I am a good listener,” says Brown. “I cut their hair, and I listen. It’s my greatest gift as a barber.”