Love is Respect: Bumble partners with the National Domestic Violence Hotline this October
AUSTIN, Texas (October 1, 2020) – Today, Bumble is announcing a multi-year partnership with The National Domestic Violence Hotline (“The Hotline”) in response to the continued prevalence and increase in unhealthy and abusive relationships. The popular app will be supporting the nonprofit’s “love is respect” initiative that engages, educates, and empowers young people to prevent and end abusive relationships. Bumble will make its first multi-year pledge as the presenting sponsor of love is respect.
Over the course of five years, Bumble has changed the narrative around women making the first move in their relationships – yet, across the U.S., one in four women and one in seven men have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
“Bumble envisions a world free of misogyny, where all relationships are healthy, equitable, and empowering,” said Cybil Zhang, Bumble’s Strategy and Social Impact Associate Director. “Bumble is proud to support a crucial nonprofit like The Hotline, which is also based in our shared hometown of Austin, Texas. Through this sponsorship, we hope to demonstrate our continued commitment to creating healthy relationships on our platform and in our communities.”
After lockdown spurred reports of domestic violence rates rising around the world, Bumble donated $100,000 to The Hotline in March 2020 as part of the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to putting survivors in closer proximity with their abusers, a special COVID-19 report from The Hotline has shown that shelter-in-place orders have increased stress, isolation, and financial strain that further compromised the safety of domestic abuse survivors.
Additionally, The Hotline saw a 101 percent increase in reported digital abuse from 2019 to 2020. Digital abuse is defined as the use of technologies such as texting and social networking to bully, harass, stalk, or intimidate a partner. Often this behavior is a form of verbal or emotional abuse perpetrated online. More information about digital abuse can be found on Bumble’s blog post written in collaboration with love is respect Director Angela Lee.
“The goal of love is respect is to be the national resource to disrupt and prevent unhealthy relationships and intimate partner abuse,” said Angela Lee, love is respect Director. “With Bumble’s generous support, we will be able to create opportunities to empower young people through inclusive and equitable education, support, and resources. Through our partnership, we look forward to shifting the public view of what it means to have a healthy relationship.”
Bumble has previously worked to curb abusive behavior online by developing legislation that makes the unsolicited sending of lewd nude images punishable by law in their home state of Texas. The measure – House Bill 2789 — passed the Texas Senate unanimously in May, and became law on September 1, 2019. Currently, Bumble is also sponsoring the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)’s research on extremism and domestic violence. News of the study will go live later this year and can be found at splcenter.org.
If you or anyone you know is affected by abuse and needs support, please call 1−800−799−7233. If you are not able to speak safely, please visit thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 1-866-331-9474.
To learn more information about domestic violence, visit thehotline.org.
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About Bumble app: Bumble, the women-first social networking app, was founded by CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd in 2014. Bumble connects people across dating (Bumble Date), friendship (Bumble BFF) and professional networking (Bumble Bizz). No matter the type of relationship, women make the first move on Bumble. Bumble recognizes the importance of relationships and how crucial they are to a healthy, happy life. They’ve built their platform around kindness, respect, and equality – and their users play an important part in that. Bumble holds its users accountable for their actions and has zero-tolerance for hate, aggression, or bullying. Bumble is available in 150 countries. Since 2014, Bumble has facilitated over a billion women-led first moves and over fifteen billion messages sent. Bumble is free and available in the App Store and Google Play.
About The Hotline and love is respect: For nearly twenty-five years, the National Domestic Violence Hotline has answered the call – over 5 million calls, chats, and texts to date – of those affected by relationship abuse. As the only 24/7/365 national service provider offering services via call, chat, and text, we work to shine a light on domestic violence by supporting and advocating for survivors, providing hope in times of crisis, and promoting healthy relationships for all.
From our crisis and intervention hotline, to our unprecedented data on the state of domestic violence, to prevention programs like love is respect, The Hotline works at every level to ensure a future where all relationships are positive, healthy, and free from violence. Learn more at thehotline.org
love is respect is the national resource to disrupt and prevent unhealthy relationships and intimate partner violence by empowering young people through inclusive and equitable education, support, and resources. A project of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, love is respect offers 24/7 information, support, and advocate to young people between the ages of 13 and 26 who have questions or concerns about their romantic relationships. love is respect is a safe, inclusive space for young people to access help and information in a setting specifically for them. Learn more at loveisrespect.org