Dating app Bumble joins Bloom support service, offers online support to sexual assault survivors

Online trauma support will be made available for all Bumble users globally and can be accessed through a version of Bloom.

For Bumble users, support will be available in English and Spanish followed by French, Hindi, Arabic, and Urdu by next year. (REUTERS)

In an effort to provide online support to sexual assault and relationship abuse survivors who are a part of its user community, Bumble has joined hands with Bloom. Through this program, Bumble users have the option to opt-in for and receive up to six therapy sessions and one-on-one chat support from the Bloom team. Additionally, Bloom's library of resources that has been created by survivors and trauma-informed therapists will be available for access to all Bumble users globally. As the company mentioned in its announcement, if someone within the Bumble community reports sexual assault or relationship abuse to the Bumble feedback team, they will receive a code for free access to a version of Bloom that's been customised for Bumble users.

Bloom is run by Chayn, which is a survivor-led nonprofit that addresses gender-based violence by creating intersectional resources online. Since 2020, Chayn has built a team of qualified and trauma-informed staff in addition to their global volunteer network to deepen their outreach.

“The trauma caused by sexual violence can devastate survivors, but with the right support, survivors can heal and reclaim their lives. Feedback from Bloom participants has been phenomenal. Survivors told us that it allowed them to access support for the first time, made them understand their trauma better and feel less alone, and gave them the tools and space they needed to support their healing,” said Hera Hussain, founder of Chayn.

Bumble and Bloom are working to create a custom curriculum that will initially be available in English and Spanish followed by French, Hindi, Arabic, and Urdu by 2022. Survivors within the Bumble community can assist in the programming of this offering through an anonymous survey that will help shape the course content. You can be a part of this survey by clicking here.

“Safety has been central to Bumble's mission from day one. We have always been guided by clear principles: empowering women and using Bumble's platform and technology to create a safe and equitable environment for our community,” said Rachel Haas, Vice President of Member Safety at Bumble.

“As someone who has dedicated their life to supporting survivors, I know the enormous impact we can have on a person's healing by providing them with access to the support they need and deserve,” Haas said.

Bumble will begin offering this customised therapy via Bloom's full-time staff to an initial pool of users later this year and will eventually expand. They also plan to roll out similar services to Badoo, another dating app, by next year.