FORT SILL, Okla. -- Fort Sill leaders received an eye-opening experience Oct. 29 when a specialist in sexual assault and sexual violence told them if we just tell Soldiers to stop committing sexual violence, it won't work and we have to acknowledge obstacles to the prevention process.
Dr. Dorothy Edwards, of GreenDotetcetc, known simply as Green Dot, presented the company's theories to more than 100 of the post's senior military and civilian leaders at Reimer Conference Room in Snow Hall.
"We present a bystander program that focuses on what people can do, instead of what they can't," said Edwards. "We acknowledge even good people find it hard to intervene. They may be afraid, they may lack the knowledge, they may be embarrassed or they may want to be the cool guy who doesn't want to tell his friend they're doing something wrong. We talk about alternatives."
Edwards said the Green Dot program emphasizes three principles in helping prevent sexual assault: direct, delegate and distract.
She said a bystander can use the direct intervention approach and insert themselves in the middle of a potentially bad situation. The delegate approach involves getting a friend or, maybe a bouncer or a near-by supervisor to intervene. The distraction approach can be something as simple as spilling a drink to break up the situation.
The Green Dot website, livethegreendot.com, states a Centers for Disease Control-funded study done by the University of Kentucky showed a 50-percent reduction in sexual violence in high schools that have received the Green Dot training.
That's why Leslie Watts, Fort Sill Sexual Assault Response coordinator (SARC), was so excited to get Green Dot to Fort Sill. Watts said she understands few people like the quarterly training and that it feels the same each time.
"I was talking with a SARC from the Air Force and she told me about Green Dot," said Watts. "The other SARC was incredibly excited about the program she had watched. So, I called Green Dot and after listening to Doctor Edwards for a few minutes, I asked, 'Ok, how long can you talk to me?'"
Watts said Green Dot is raising eyebrows among the post leadership because the company is giving them something realistic to work with. Fort Sill would be the first installation to hear about Green Dot's groundbreaking research.
"For the first time, we have research-based strategies for sexual assault and violence prevention that we believe are manageable and doable over a period of time to achieve the end state cultural transformation," said Watts.
Edwards said Green Dot works with schools and children from kindergarten through college. She said she believes it's easier to work with the military because when service memebers enter basic training, they are already undergoing a culture change.
"They are already learning a new way of life; to salute, to stand at attention, to say 'Yes sir,'" said Edwards. "We introduce the messages of sexual assault prevention, and it become part of their new way of life. We show the leadership what options they have, we show the young Soldiers what options they have and suddenly, everyone is speaking the same language."
Watts said she plans to have Green Dot back for the next quarter training to train peer leaders who have been identified by their leadership.
Social Sharing