GREEN DOT FOR HIGH SCHOOL
Green Dot
Green Dot is an evidence-based primary prevention program designed to teach participants safe ways to intervene in situations of bullying, dating violence, and sexual harassment and assault.
The program includes two components: the Overview Speech and the Bystander Training.
The Overview Speech is a 45-minute high-level training delivered to all students in a school.
The Bystander Training is a 5-hour intensive training with identified Popular Opinion Leaders (POLs), i.e. students who are admired and respected by their peers. To reach optimal effectiveness, 15% of the student body must complete the Bystander Training.
Learning Objectives
After attending a Green Dot training, participants will be able to:
- Recognize red dots (a potentially harmful situation)
- Understand importance of intervening
- Know any barriers they may have to intervening
- Identify creative ways to intervene, even with their barriers
- Set new school norms: violence is not okay and everyone is expected to do their part
HOW WE KNOW IT WORKS
RCT Testing Bystander Effectiveness to Reduce Violence. American Journal of Preventative Medicine 52(5): 566–578.
What’s Your Green Dot?
Green Dots are simple actions you can take in your everyday life. Some examples are:
- Directly intervening when you see a red dot situation by telling the person/people causing harm to stop or by checking in on the person experiencing the harm.
- Getting someone else involved in addressing a red dot situation, like a friend, teacher, or other trusted adult.
- Distracting from a red dot situation by asking someone about homework you have or asking to borrow someone’s phone.
- Having a conversation with your friends about why you think Green Dot is important. Posting about Green Dot on your social media.
- Bringing a Green Dot training to your club, sports team, or youth group.
Kentucky’s Green Dot 2040 Plan
KASAP’s goal is to have Green Dot in all 255 high schools across the Commonwealth by 2040 because every student deserves to learn and grow in a violence-free environment. KASAP is working to expand capacity across the state to achieve this goal and ensure that every Kentuckian in our newest generation would have access to prevention during their formative high school years.
Green Dot Research
Below are links to research articles about the Green Dot program.
Articles
- Challenge and Opportunity in Evaluating a Diffusion-Based Active Bystanding Prevention Program: Green Dot in High Schools. (2014)
- From Empower to Green Dot: Successful Strategies and Lessons Learned in Developing Comprehensive Sexual Violence Primary Prevention Programming. (2014)
- Multi-College Bystander Intervention Evaluation for Violence Prevention. (2016)
- RCT Testing Bystander Effectiveness to Reduce Violence. (2017)
- Do Violence Acceptance and Bystander Actions Explain the Effects of Green Dot on Reducing Violence Perpetration in High Schools? (2019)
- Bystander Program Effectiveness to Reduce Violence and Violence Acceptance Within Sexual Minority Male and Female High School Students Using a Cluster RCT. (2020)
- The Green Light for Green Dot: A Qualitative Study of Factors Influencing Adoption of an Efficacious Violence Prevention Program in High School Settings. (2020)
- Improving Social Norms and Actions to Prevent Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence: A Pilot Study of the Impact of Green Dot Community on Youth. (2020))
- Bystander Intervention Efficacy to Reduce Teen Dating Violence Among High School Youth Who Did and Did Not Witness Parental Partner Violence: A Path Analysis of A Cluster RCT. (2021)
- Case Study of Community-Level Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention: Using Concept Mapping to Evaluate Community Narratives Over Time. (2021)
- How Does Green Dot Bystander Training in High School and Beyond Impact Attitudes Toward Violence and Sexism in a Prospective Cohort? (2021)
Questions about prevention?
Contact KASAP’s Prevention Coordinator, Astraea Howard (ahoward@kasap.org)
The Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs, Inc. (KASAP) is the statewide coalition of the 13 rape crisis centers in the Commonwealth. The mission of KASAP is to speak with a unified voice against sexual victimization.
Frankfort, KY 40601
Useful Links
Safe Exit