Green dot campaign seeks to change culture of violence against women
by Megan Graves, posted May 8, 2009
“The solution must be a reflection of the problem,” said Dorothy Edwards, creator of the Green Dot, in a lecture given April 21. The Green Dot is aimed at the prevention of violence against women. A green dot — a “behavior, choice, word or attitude”- is an action that counteracts a red dot — an act of violence, such as rape, physical or emotional abuse.
Edwards is the director of the University of Kentucky's Violence Intervention and Prevention Center. She was on the MU campus to give the keynote address for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
One in three women will be victims of violence before they leave a college campus, Edwards said. Every twenty-one hours, a rape takes place on a college campus. Thirty-two percent of women on college campuses will be victims of domestic abuse.
The Green Dot’s goal is to teach people to make an individual choice to be completely intolerant of this type of violence. For this to happen, Edwards said, we must shift the culture. Too many people see these types of situations as okay, and too many others consciously make a decision to let someone get caught up in situations that don't feel quite right, said Edwards.
This undertaking seems overwhelming, and you may think to yourself ‘I am only one person,’ said Edwards. But, we do it all the time. Our culture consistently changes. Fashion and music choices have changed immensely in just the past ten years.
“Don’t tell me culture can’t change, we elected the first black president,” said Edwards.
No one is immune to violence, we are all bystanders to this reality, she said. A person has two choices, stand back and let it happen, or take an active role and stop the violence. You can’t be neutral in these situations. Edwards said to think about the women you love when you’re making the decision to help or stand back. Would you want others to intervene and help the women you love?
“If you sit here thinking you will be unscathed by this issue, I am here to tell you that you won’t,” said Edwards. “The numbers are too high. Are we going to rise to the standards we want others to rise to?”
A green dot is just a moment in time, said Edwards. One moment can prevent a rape or an act of physical violence. If you don’t feel comfortable dragging a friend away from a situation, create a diversion or have a friend do it. The Green Dot has training available to students to learn about ways to better identify red dot situations and different ways to make green dot actions.
To learn more about it, visit the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center located at N214 Memorial Student Union.
“One dot at a time, we will shift the culture,” said Edwards.
