Mumbai: Online dating application, Bumble is teaming up with Bloom, a non-profit organisation in an industry-first partnership to provide complimentary online trauma support to members of its global community, who experience sexual assault or relationship abuse.
Through this program, members of the Bumble community will have the opportunity to receive up to six therapy sessions as well as one-to-one chat support with the Bloom team. This is in addition to Bloom’s readily available library of resources created by survivors and trauma-informed therapists. If someone within the Bumble community reports sexual assault or relationship abuse to Bumble’s feedback team, they will receive a code for free access to a version of Bloom customised for Bumble users, said the platform in a statement.
Bloom is run by Chayn, a survivor-led nonprofit addressing gender-based violence by creating intersectional resources online. Chayn has championed a 'design with, not for' approach - their services are made for survivors by survivors. Since 2020, Chayn has built a team of qualified and trauma-informed staff in addition to their global volunteer network to deepen their outreach and services.
“The trauma caused by sexual violence can devastate survivors, but with the right support, survivors can heal and reclaim their lives,” said Chayn founder Hera Hussain. “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.”
Bumble and Bloom are working together on a custom curriculum that will initially be available in English and Spanish followed by French, Hindi, Arabic, and Urdu in 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, the platform said.
“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 Bumble - VP of member safety, Rachel Haas. “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. We’re proud to partner with Bloom to be the first in the industry to pioneer a trauma-informed and expert-led survivor resources program."
Bumble will begin offering the customised therapy via Bloom’s full-time staff to an initial pool of users later this year with plans to expand. The company also plans to roll out these services on Badoo next year.
