Green Dot, the University of Westminster’s active bystander training programme which focuses on sexual abuse, domestic abuse and harassment, has reached a milestone of 1,000 trainees.
Through the bystander training programme, participants are able to learn the basics of bystander intervention and the principles of safely intervening in situations of power-based violence. Green Dot aims to challenge the culture of the institutions it works within, providing colleagues and students with the knowledge and confidence to challenge inappropriate behaviour or any situation where there is a risk of escalation or harm. This Spring, the University reached the milestone of 1,000 students and colleagues trained on the Green Dot programme.
Green Dot training is provided by members of academic and professional staff at Westminster who themselves have been accredited and trained through the programme. The University of Westminster is the first university in the UK to introduce the Green Dot initiative, and introduced a pioneering programme and campaign against power-based violence in 2017 supported by Catalyst (Office for Students) and funding from the Quintin Hogg Trust. Since then, the University has mentored other institutions in the UK following through with the training programme.
Two types of training are offered as part of Green Dot: an overview offering generalised training and exploring the main concepts of the active bystander initiative, and bystander training which 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 University’s Women of Westminster (WoW) Network, which lobbies for gender equality, diversity and inclusion have advocated for the Green Dot initiative as one of their five pledges for the Westminster community to do their part in tackling Gender Based Violence.
They said: “By expanding the role of bystanders beyond being merely reactive, the Green Dot programme trains participants to engage in proactive behaviours that model and endorse norms that are incompatible with violence. The ultimate goal is not simply to react to potential violence as it is occurring, but rather to simultaneously shift community norms away from attitudes that incubate and support GBV. More than ever, it is important to develop confidence and competence in what you can do to become an active bystander in our community.”
Find out more about the Green Dot active bystander initiative.
