#livethegreendot

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Are you wearing denim today?

Denim Day brings political and historical context into an approachable movement that people can opt into very easily while making a statement.

Check out denimdayinfo.org for more information.   

 “Wear jeans with a purpose, support survivors, and educate yourself and others about sexual assault.“ -denimdayinfo.org

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Through this video and a 60-minute interactive workshop, Cornell’s Intervene program addresses the following issues:

Stranger and friends intervened in a potential sexual assault 

Friends intervened in a racial bias situation

Roommate intervened in a hazing situation 

Acquaintance intervened w/ person feeling overwhelmed by academics

Classmates intervened in a sexual harassment/gender bias situation

Friend intervened in an intimate partner violence (emotional abuse) situation 

Friends intervened in an alcohol emergency 

Some of the unique features of this program are that it: 

Uses an empowering and realistic approach to problem-solving 

Illustrates how bystander intervention skills can be applied to multiple college health topics

Includes successful individual and group interventions

Depicts a range of severity (non-urgent, urgent, and emergency scenarios)

Explores the role of bystanders in situations as they develop over time

Addresses how to intervene across multiple kinds of relationships (friends, strangers, roommates, acquaintances, classmates, coworkers)

Is designed for college students (undergraduate, graduate, and professional students)

Underwent rigorous evaluation (with a randomized control trial) and the data shows both the video and workshop are effective

-Information from Cornell’s Intervene presentation at NASPA Conference March 2018

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Having attended Vagina Monologues this year put on by a group of powerful women, I thought immediately about how this performance is effecting the audience.  Some members of the audience were grandmothers listening to their granddaughters’ personal stories about sexual assault.  Other audience members are hearing these raw stories for the first time from their peers.  It is my hope that the stories will hit home with future bystanders and empower them to take action in a way that will bring about more loving experiences and prevent the horrific ones.

Read more from a recent Forbes.com article below:

More than twenty years ago in her groundbreaking play The Vagina Monologues, Eve Ensler stood on stage to talk about something considered fiercely taboo. “I was worried about what we think about vaginas, and even more worried that we don't think about them,” says the actress, playwright and activist. “There is so much darkness and secrecy surrounding them, like the Bermuda Triangle.” Ensler's play was based on hundreds of interviews she conducted with women about sexuality and stigmas surrounding rape, abuse, female genital mutilation and sex slavery.

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Have you heard of RespectCon?  

Seeing Emory University invest in ending violence through a conference platform is very impressive!  At the moment, they’re still accepting session proposals if you’re interested.

“RespectCon aims to end violence on college and university campuses. Established in 2012, the conference regularly draws more than a hundred attendees from across the country to Emory University in Atlanta, GA. It is the only annual meeting dedicated to addressing sexual violence through social justice informed approaches and collaboration.

Who can attend RespectCon?

Everyone is a stakeholder in this work to end violence. Therefore we seek a diverse group of presenters, speakers, and attendees who can stimulate the atmosphere and create an effective dialogue on violence prevention on college campuses. Undergraduate students, professional students, graduate students, faculty members, and professional staff on college campuses or in organizations working with campuses are all encouraged to submit proposals and/or attend! RespectCon is not just a conference; we hope to build a community of scholarship for this issue”

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Let this serve as a reminder that the current rates of violence are not inevitable.  Be the bystander that lowers these rates.

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Thank you RAINN for doing your part.  RAINN’s sexual assault prevention tactics involve creating a distraction, asking directly, referring to an authority, and enlisting others.  These are very similar to the common tactics of, “Direct. Distract. Delegate.”

“RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE, online.rainn.org y rainn.org/es) in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country and operates the DoD Safe Helpline for the Department of Defense. RAINN also carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.”  

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How thorough and easy to navigate is your campus’ website for bystander intervention?

Having a landing page with clearly marked specific resources will help members of your community find what they need.

This site from Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis provides a great variety of resources!

http://studentaffairs.iupui.edu/health-wellness/counseling-psychology/prevention-efforts/sex-assault.shtml

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I got this card at my first Green Dot introduction session.  A few months later, I came across the card again and told myself I’d look into getting trained.  The Green Dot training stuck with me and I knew I had to keep up my end of the deal.  The current rates of violence are not inevitable.