Green Dot

What is Green Dot?

Green Dot is a comprehensive violence prevention strategy that depends on the power of bystanders to prevent violence and shift social and cultural norms. Green Dot sees all community members as potential active bystanders and seeks to safely engage them in violence prevention. Active bystanders do “green dots” by expressing intolerance for violence through both proactive and reactive behaviors.

To learn more about this evidence-based program, click here or review the CDC-funded study here: RCT Testing Bystander Effectiveness to Reduce Violence - PubMed.

How can I add green dots to my community?

Reducing and preventing violence in Kentuckiana is something we can all do; however, being an active bystander can be hard. A situation might make you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, and we address barriers to helping someone in three different ways.

We can say or do something directly to address the impending red dot (or harmful behavior). We could create a silly (or not silly) distraction to divert people’s attention away from the red dot. Finally, we have the option to delegate action to someone else who may be more equipped to help (e.g., an outgoing friend, party host, law enforcement, teacher, etc.).