Green Dot is an active bystander training programme focusing on sexual abuse, domestic abuse and harassment. It equips students and colleagues with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to identify, intervene and report power-based personal violence.
What you will learn
Through the programme you will learn the benefits of bystander intervention and the principles of being an active bystander in situations of power-based personal violence.
Green Dot is not just a training programme but aims to change the culture of the institutions it works within. It gives staff the skills to train students, and it gives students the knowledge and confidence to challenge inappropriate behaviour in their academic and personal lives.
The skills learned are not just applicable to incidences of power-based personal violence. They can be used in any situation that where there is a risk of escalation or harm.
Training will be carried out by academic and professional staff at Westminster who have been trained and accredited within the programme.
The below video is not part of the Green Dot programme, but showcases the role of an active bystander in a situation of power-based personal violence.
Trigger warning: This video shows a fictional scenario leading up to a rape. It does not show the rape itself, but may be triggering to some people. Please take this into consideration before viewing the film.
Training
The Green Dot project offers training to students and staff, regardless of their position or year of study.
There are two types of training. Both contain the same information but differ in time and depth.
Type 1: Overview
The overview is generalised training on offer to all students and staff.
It takes around 1.5 to 2 hours and explores the main concepts of the active bystander initiative. The training is interactive and explores the barriers you might face in intervening in incidents.
This training is a great introduction to the principles of the initiative.
Type 2: Bystander training
Bystander training is the main part of the programme. It explores the active bystander in greater depth, along with barriers that individuals feel may prevent them from intervening.
The training also offers a platform for participants to voice their experiences and collectively work with the University to ensure that these experiences inform the way similar situations are dealt with in future.
Those who wish to be leaders within the community of the Green Dot movement will benefit from this training.
This training takes 3 hours and is adapted depending on whether you are a member of staff or a student.
Note: Both types of training explore sensitive issues such as sexual abuse, domestic abuse and harassment. If at any point during the training you feel uncomfortable please raise this with one of the trainers. They are all trained in supporting you along the programme.
How to get involved
Student sessions will be advertised on the UWSU events page.
Colleague sessions will be advertised on the intranet events calendar (staff log-in required).
You can also register your interest to hear first about future training dates and be added to the waiting list. We will contact you when more sessions are arranged.
We are also able to schedule training sessions for smaller groups of 10 to 20 people on request. For these enquiries, please email [email protected].
Green Dot at the University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is proud to be the first university in the United Kingdom to introduce the Green Dot Initiative. The University introduced a pioneering programme and campaign against power-based personal violence in 2017, supported by Catalyst (Office for Students) and Quintin Hogg Trust funding. Since then, the University has mentored other institutions in the UK following through with this initiative.
In spring 2021, the University reached the milestone of 1,000 students and colleagues trained.
The programme was created by Alteristic in the United States of America and launched in 2006 at the University of Kentucky. Since then, it has reached 984 schools and universities across the United States and trained 7,146 instructors who cascade the training to students and professionals in their organisations.