Does Green Dot increase bystanding behaviors and reduce dating and sexual violence at the University of Kentucky?

In 2007, the University of Kentucky (UK) began to implement a primary prevention intervention program to engage students in keeping each other safe. The program termed “Green Dot” acknowledges that while most students neither participate in nor condone violence, many respond passively to a culture that may tacitly support violence. By empowering individuals to actively but appropriately question peer support for sexual and dating violence (DSV), bystanders become change agents who can play a significant role in reducing violence. To evaluate this intervention we conducted a cross-sectional survey of a random sample of 8,000 students at UK. The purpose was to determine students' exposure to Green Dot training as either attending persuavsive speeches or 5-hour training to effectively bystand and estimate the association of training with 1) actual bystanding behaviors, 2) social norms supporting dating and sexual violence, and 3) DSV. We hypothesize that Green Dot training will increase bystanding behaviors, and reduce social norms supporting DSV and frequency of DSV perpetration and victimization. We will present findings from the 2010 survey and discuss implications for the effectiveness of current and future college bystanding intervention programs.