This initiative builds on the foundation of safety products and resources available on Tinder
India, August 19, 2021: Tinder, the world’s most popular app for meeting new people, has launched a new initiative to encourage conversations on consent in partnership with Yuvaa and Pink Legal.
An interactive resource centre www.letstalkconsent.com, built by subject matter experts, has been launched for India and will be followed up with powerful personal anecdotes and stories by advocates that will be unveiled over the next few weeks on Tinder’s social channels.
Tinder has unveiled a host of safety features over the last two years and recently introduced a dedicated in-app Safety Center for its members in India that includes a Consent 101 section. The ‘Conversations on Consent’ initiative is an extension of these resources meant to encourage a culture of consent in the community with the letstalkconsent guide brought to you by Yuvaa and Pink Legal containing information on the meaning of consent, navigating consent across stages of a relationship, how to ask and give consent as well as the nuance of withdrawing consent. It also includes frequently asked questions on the topic by Tinder members, advice on steps to take in the event your consent was breached, what the law says about it and how to substantiate a breach. The guide lists helplines, community pages and experts to reach out to for more support.
The pandemic has prompted people, including Tinder members, to be more introspective, leading to online interactions and personal portrayal becoming honest and authentic as stated in Tinder’s Future of Dating Report, released earlier this year. It brought up more discussions of personal boundaries and initiated conversations about consent within the app. Tinder members used their bios to make their expectations clear: the word ‘boundaries’ is being used more than ever (up 28%* year on year), and the term ‘consent’ rose 21%. A global survey of 18 – 24 olds in 2020 by Tinder highlighted Gen Z felt consent was a topic that needed more conversations within society.
“Consent is key in all interpersonal relationships. As the largest dating app foundationally built on consent, we intend to be a strong ally in promoting the need to have an open, honest and compassionate conversation,” said Taru Kapoor, GM, Tinder & Match Group, India, “This initiative builds on the safety products and resources that are available on Tinder and reaches out to the community with a mission to build a safer dating culture and a respectful member ecosystem with a conversation series .”
Kevin Lee, Editor in Chief, Yuvaa stated, “Growing up, young people in India haven’t been encouraged to communicate openly about personal boundaries especially around dating, sex and relationships. Much of this conditioning comes from our sex education in school (or lack thereof), but whatever the reason may be, as the love stories of young India move more online than offline, it’s more important than ever to understand how to navigate consent. Through this partnership with Tinder, we’re trying to teach everyone what consent is without shaming or judging them for having ‘basic’ questions, and hope that we’re helping foster more respectful, enthusiastic connections and relationships.”
“We are thrilled to associate with Tinder to create this much-needed resource centre. When a platform like Tinder spreads awareness about consent, it helps the youth realise that consent is sexy. It is not awkward and certainly not a taboo. I would encourage people to go through the resource center, which is housed with answers to all your questions about consent and its legal boundaries. Use the Swipe feature to your heart’s content, but with consent!” shared Advocate Manasi Chaudhari, Founder and CEO, Pink Legal.
Built on the premise of mutual consent, Tinder changed the way people made new connections with the introduction of the double opt-in Swipe feature and other features that provided members complete control over who they interacted with, setting the pace and intent of each interaction while reserving the right to withdraw consent at any time. Many of the features have now become the standard for the industry as daters overwhelmingly value the choice, control and agency that Tinder brought to them, not always available in the physical world. Tinder’s new initiative is a step forward to educate and normalise conversations in the community around understanding consent, appreciating personal boundaries and challenging assumptions.
