Too often, the burden of reporting abusive behavior and experiences of harm falls on survivors after the incident has occurred, frequently leading to re-traumatisation and emotional distress at a time when victim-survivors are quite vulnerable and need to focus on their own healing. The need to repeat the incidents of harm in order to be heard and access support can delay recovery from abuse. To help relieve that burden, Bumble is teaming up with national nonprofits and advocacy organizations who help victims of sexual violence, physical abuse, technology-facilitated abuse, and violent discrimination, such as anti-semitism, to streamline the reporting process. 

To do this, Bumble Inc. has expanded our partnership with the secure information-sharing portal, Kodex, to host a dedicated cyber tip line for advocates working closely with victim-survivors to report—and for Bumble’s safety moderators to potentially remove—abusive or dangerous members. If these people are found to be using the app, they’ll receive a warning from Bumble, or can even be removed from the app and banned from creating new accounts, ultimately preventing them from misusing Bumble. 

These charities and nonprofits—including Refuge and CST in the U.K., WESNET in Australia, and consulting partner, the National Domestic Violence Hotline in the U.S.—are able to report harmful behavior on behalf of survivors using the Kodex portal for non-governmental and charitable organisations, directly connecting those referrals to Bumble’s member safety team for investigation. In addition to enhancing the support available to victim-survivors from their advocates, this new initiative allows Bumble to work more closely with anti-violence organizations to safeguard our community, raise awareness of our safety features, and give advocates a tangible way to elevate the voices and experiences of victim-survivors.  

We don’t permit harmful behavior on the Bumble app, including sexual harassment, hate speech, and the unsolicited sending of explicit photos. The Kodex platform is limited to charitable organizations for this type of reporting (separate and apart from our Kodex police portal) and the processes will be refined with early adapters in this pilot stage. Individuals are able to report dangerous or harmful behavior to Bumble on their own through the app or online.

Read more on Bumble’s safety features and initiatives at bumble.com/safety.