Agency Prevention History:
Helping people who have been hurt by violence is the heart of what we do at Women’s Crisis Center (WCC). Transforming our community and creating lasting change through violence prevention is our passion. For 40 years, WCC has provided a healing and safe space. The Center began in response to a series of rapes in our community. Services expanded in 1979, to include care for battered women and their children and two emergency shelters were opened.
In 1983, WCC created the first prevention program for youth in KY. It served as the model program across the Commonwealth. In 2010, WCC was part of a groundbreaking prevention strategy called Green Dot. Through our prevention program, WCC provides services in 5 counties in Kentucky: Boone, Kenton, Campbell, Mason and Bracken, as well as Hamilton County in Ohio.
Providing care for those impacted by violence is honoring our history at WCC and preventing violence allows us to create a different future.
Prevention Education Program – Green Dot:
WCC is proud to provide the Green Dot violence prevention strategy in various local high schools, colleges, businesses, agencies, and throughout the community. Green Dot is a nationally recognized strategy focused on preventing power-based personal violence – sexual violence, partner violence, child abuse, elder abuse, bullying, and stalking. Green Dot implementation is comprehensive, focusing on building and sustaining relationships through a connection to violence prevention. The strategy is based around the belief that each one of us holds power as bystanders to actively prevent violence and shape our community norms. Green Dot seeks to engage every member of community in our philosophy, “no one has to do everything, but everyone can do something.”
Women’s Crisis Center is one of the first rape crisis centers in the country to receive specialized training to implement Green Dot in high schools and was part of a grounding breaking research study partnering with the University of Kentucky and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The results were astounding, WCC was part of a 50% decrease in sexual assault perpetration and 40% decrease in perpetration rates overall, including sexual harassment, stalking and dating violence. WCC is the only community agency in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area offering this research proven program to local high schools.
Transforming our community and creating lasting change through violence prevention is our passion. WCC has led the way by adopting the Green Dot violence prevention strategy, which is based on the belief that the greatest power is in the bystander- each one of us. Through our choices we can and decide what we will accept and not accept in our community with regards to violence. Green Dot specifically targets bystanders to incorporate manageable moments of violence prevention and norm setting in their daily lives. Green Dot expands the definition of bystander to include anyone who is aware that violence is present, and not just individuals who see an immanent high-risk situation. Green Dot also expands what bystanders’ do, to include proactive behaviors that endorse two new norms: Violence will not be tolerated and everyone is expected to do their part. Green Dot now becomes a broad-scale mobilizer engaging the previous silent majority toward visible action and ultimately resulting in a reduction of violence.
Visit greendotgcky.org for more info, or follow Green Dot GCKY on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Learn more about Green Dot and how a KY study found Green Dot to be a key in reducing sexual violence in high schools
American Journal of Preventative Medicine – RCT Testing Bystander Effectiveness to Reduce Violence
March 8, 2017 – Teaching teens reduces violence
March 7, 2017 – Kentucky study finds a key to reducing sexual violence in high schools
