Green Dot Bystander Intervention: Change Starts With You
We can create a safer community by making the decision to act and help end different forms of power-based personal violence (sexual assault, dating, and domestic violence, and stalking). We will see this change occur as people identify potentially unsafe situations and take the initiative to confront, interrupt, or prevent these acts of violence.
What is a Green Dot?
A green dot is any choice, behavior, or action that encourages safety for everyone and communicates intolerance for different forms of power-based personal violence.
- A green dot is stepping in to help someone during a high-risk situation.
- A green dot is sharing about the importance of bystander intervention on social media.
- A green dot is initiating a conversation about ways that people can help and intervene during situations, while still feeling comfortable about their actions.
- A green dot is any choice that you make to ensure that our world and community is a safe place for everyone.
Types of Green Dots
A green dot can be reactive or proactive.
Reactive green dots are choices and actions that can be made in response to potentially harmful situations. Reactive green dots come in the form of the Three Ds: Direct, Distract, and Delegate.
- Direct: Confront the situation directly. You can choose to ask the potential target if they need help stepping away from the situation, or you can also directly address the person that may want to initiate violence.
- Distract: Create a distraction that interrupts the situation. This type of green dot involves creating a distraction that can directly interrupt the situation or prevent it from even occurring.
- Delegate: Involve others and get help. If you do not feel comfortable engaging directly in a situation alone, you can involve others who may be in a better position to prevent violence from happening.
Proactive green dots are things we can do in our everyday life to make it less likely that violence will occur. Proactive green dots can include:
- Choosing to write about the importance of violence prevention in course papers and assignments.
- Supporting violence prevention events (ex: The Clothesline Project and Denim Day).
- Sharing about green dot bystander intervention to friends, families, group organizations, and on social media.
We can make the world a safer place by showing up and intervening before an act of violence can occur. Change starts with you.
More From UCI CARE
If you are interested in learning more about Green Dot Bystander Intervention, please consider joining UCI CARE’s Green Dot Overview event on Thursday, May 13, 2021, at 4 PM-5 PM PST, which “will go over how culture change happens and what actions each student, staff, and faculty member in our community can take in order to make our campus a more safe and inclusive space for everyone.” Please register here.
