Green Dot

The Green Dot Metaphor

Visualize an image of your community... the buildings, the streets, places of worship, restaurants, parks and neighborhoods

Now image, each time someone makes a single choice to use their words or actions to hurt someone else, a small red dot appears on that space. A Red Dot is a choice to have sex with someone without their consent, the moment it takes to hit someone, or when an ex-boyfriend shows up at his ex-girlfriend's workplace unwanted.

If the problem is red dots in our community, then the solution is Green Dots. A Reactive Green is something we can do to stop red dots from happening. These choices make it less likely that a red dot will appear in our community.

A Proactive Green Dot is something we can do to begin stopping red dots before they even start. If all the blank space in our community is filled with green dots, there are not room for red dots.

Examples of Proactive Green Dots include wearing a Green Dot pin, posting a link to a bystander story on your social media page, telling friends about the Green Dot program, or complimenting someone for stepping up in a potentially harmful situation.

A Green Dot does not have to be a BIG thing. It can be a small thing.

It can be checking in on a friend in a new relationship that you are worried about, spilling a drink at a party to diffuse an escalating situation, giving someone a ride home, or setting off your car alarm to cause a distraction. The most important thing is to do something that feels realistic to you.

The program includes the following components.

• Green Dot Bystander Trainings
  • This 5-6 hour interactive training is designed to equip participants with the necessary connection, knowledge and skill to increase their proactive and reactive bystander behaviors. Participants learn the 3 D’s – Direct, Delegate and Distract 
• Green Dot Overviews
  • These short talks range from 5 minutes to an hour and introduce the basic elements of Green Dot while using persuasive and inspirational language to engage participants into immediate action. 
• Green Dot Social Marketing
  • Time-limited action events that are fun and engaging are done to promote two social norms 1) violence will not be tolerated, and 2) everyone is expected to do their part to contribute to community safety and respect.