Turning Red Dots to Green Dots in Ybor


Picture a world map that is tracking the progress of a contagious disease. Imagine red dots spreading steadily across the countries, with each red dot being one sick person. Now imagine that those red dots do not represent sick people, but acts of violence or harassment.

Just like a disease, violence and harassment is not one big thing that can be stopped with a few laws or policies. It is made up of small, individual acts. If a red dot is an act of personal violence, then what is a green dot? A green dot is any behavior or action that reduces the risk of a red dot, promotes safety, and promotes the concept that violence will not be tolerated. A green dot is anything, big or small, that rebels against red dots.

Green Dot was started by Dorothy Edwards, Ph.D. in order to take measurable action against personal violence. After years working in violence intervention, Edwards felt that she had made little progress in the battle against violence and harassment. She was frustrated that people seemed to be internalizing anti-violence ideas and concepts, but were hesitant to act on them. Armed with research and determination, Edwards took her Green Dot strategy to the front lines: colleges, high schools, and communities. She focused on reaching people on a personal level, reaching out to students and staff. And she began to see a change.

Rather than focusing on the perpetrators of violence or the victims, Green Dot brings in the bystanders and teaches them how to prevent situations from ever escalating into violence or harassment. The audience is given simple strategies they can use to distract or otherwise derail the situation before it becomes dangerous. They are taught the warning signs of impending sexual assault, violence, or harassment. By learning how to step in before a situation escalates, bystanders can prevent people from being in danger. One of Green Dot’s major strategies is to reach out to influential people in the community, such as popular students, business owners, etc.

There are reactive green dots and proactive, and both have their uses. Reactive green dots are actions that are performed when a situation could escalate to violence. They are the 3 D’s: direct (do something yourself), delegate (ask someone else to do something) and distract (do something that will diffuse the situation without directly addressing it, such as pretending to spill something).

Proactive dots are more broad, and involve actions taken outside of situations that could escalate. Things such as wearing a green dot pin, posting a helpful link to Facebook for your friends to see, organizing training, or putting up posters advocating for green dots. Proactive Green Dots reach more people and expand the conversation and awareness about how to prevent violence.

The Crisis Center chose to target a specific area in Hillsborough county with a Green Dot outreach plan: Ybor City. Through presentations at local businesses, outreach events, and other strategies, the Crisis Center plans to have reached every business and citizen of Ybor within their 5 year contract with the Florida Department of Health.

But you don’t have to be officially affiliated with Green Dot to make a difference. Everyone can be a part of the Green Dot movement by learning how to diffuse situations before they lead to violence or harassment. If you can tell that a situation is going to escalate, step in before it does. Take small steps to promote a green dot culture. Tell anyone you can about how they can help create a green dot culture. Together, we can start preventing acts of personal violence and turn those red dots into green dots.