Researchers delivered the first round of results from a high school version of the Univerisity of Kentucky's Green Dot program Wednesday.
Efforts to combat sexual violence on the UK campus have received plaudits from from the White House, but now researchers are investigating whether the same strategies could yield results in high school environments.
UK’s Center for Research on Violence Against Women has been testing out the Green Dot program over the course of five years in a group of Kentucky high schools. And the preliminary findings have advocates cheering.
"Over the time period, sexual violence perpetration in the intervention schools declined by more than 50 percent," said Ann Coker, who led the study for the center.
In the program, participants envision their campus mapped out with green dots, representing behaviors, choices, words, or attitudes that promote safety for all, and red dots, symbolizing acts of violence or behaviors that could lead to violence. Students are then trained to notice the precursors and react in ways to diffuse the situation.
Statistics show one in seven Kentucky high school students will experience some form of physical dating violence.
