Tinder Redesigns Sexual Violence Reporting System
Tinder has implemented an overhaul of its system used to report sexual violence and harassment. The changes are designed to provide better support for users who report it.
The dating app worked with U.S. anti-sexual assault organisation RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) to develop the redesign of this trauma-informed reporting process, which aims to give survivors more authority over what step they want to take next.
The new changes include significant improvements to the reporting process, improved access to survivor resources, and education for internal teams at Tinder.
As part of the redesign, a new screen has been introduced in the reporting process asking “are you or the person involved in a safe place?” and recommends contacting local authorities if required.
The changes are designed to make it as easy as possible to report someone you’ve unmatched from. Experts at RAINN identified that seeing a former abuser in a match list can be triggering and traumatising. In view of that, Tinder has changed its reporting system to let users unmatch while still easily reporting directly within the app.
Previously, members have always been able to report members they’ve unmatched from, but it’s now much easier to do so within the app, rather than doing it in an out-of-app browser experience. This is also helpful in instances where abusers have already unmatched from the survivor in an effort to make it more difficult to be reported.
The changes implemented by Tinder also acknowledges that many users who do suffer abuse or harassment do not report it straight away and some might not want to receive a follow-up from Tinder’s support team.
Announcing the changes, Tinder said: “Many survivors don’t report what happened to them immediately — being able to unmatch an abuser and yet still easily report when they’re ready is critical. Members should feel confident they can hold someone accountable, even if they have unmatched, so we have created a more direct way to report directly in the app”. Upon reporting abuse or harassment, users can now decide whether or not they would like to receive any follow-ups on the report they’ve submitted.
