Bumble and Bloom create trauma support for sexual assault survivors globally

Representative Image.Pic/iStock

Bumble is teaming up with Bloom 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, 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 the platform's feedback team, they will receive a code for free access to a version of Bloom customized for their users.

Bloom is run by Chayn, a survivor-led non-profit 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 Hera Hussain, founder of Chayn. "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."

The two 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.

"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. 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 customized 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.