Dating Apps Are Asking Users to Urge Their Senators to Pass the Violence Against Women Act

Tinder, Match, and several other dating services are asking their users to urge their senators to pass the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Politico reported Tuesday.

Last month, Match Group’s CEO Shar Dubey wrote in an op-ed for Fortune calling for the reauthorization of VAWA and said that the company’s brands will run ads asking users to contact their elected officials. Match Group includes Tinder, Match, OkCupid, BLK, Chispa, and Plenty of Fish. The ads, which rolled out this week, prompt users to contact their senators through a one-click “Act Now” form.

“Violence against women is a major public health issue and violation of human rights that needs to be acknowledged and must be urgently addressed if we truly want a more equitable society,” the form states. “As Match Group’s brands, including Tinder, Match, OkCupid, BLK, Chispa and Plenty of Fish, have connected billions of people, resulting in millions of relationships, we believe we have an important role to play in this fight.

The webpage then features a one-click “send email” button for users to contact their senators after they provide their full name, address, zip code, and contact information. The pre-written subject line states “Please vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act,” and the email details the history of VAWA and urges lawmakers in the Senate to reauthorize it.

In 1994, Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which provided a comprehensive approach to combat domestic and sexual violence. This law passed – and was reauthorized three times – with broad bipartisan support, because it provides state and local governments the tools they need to crack down on abusers and support survivors.
Despite widespread support and its proven effectiveness over the last quarter century, the Violence Against Women Act has expired and awaits reauthorization today in Congress.
Please support efforts to reauthorize this law immediately. Lawmakers across the political spectrum must come together and ensure we combat this major public health problem, by ensuring we have the resources we need to protect survivors and assist their recovery.
This issue cannot wait, because every day this law has the potential to impact someone’s mother, daughter, friend or coworker. The statistics are horrifying, and demonstrate just how many women and those from marginalized communities live in fear for their safety. Consider that one in five women have been sexually assaulted, one in three have experienced mental and emotional abuse in a relationship during their lifetime, and one in four women will be the victim of intimate partner violence during their life.
Please do the work to find a compromise that will expand and strengthen VAWA’s protections and reauthorize this law before the end of 2021.

In March, the House passed a bill to reauthorize VAWA. It has not been reauthorized since 2019. Since then, the legislation has stalled at the Senate.

In her op-ed, Dubey wrote that she is “urging lawmakers from across the political spectrum to forge a compromise so that we can swiftly pass the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, a critical federal law that protects survivors and uses grants to help fund programs to assist in their recovery.”