Social Bully
Bumble, claimed to be the women-first social networking app brings in the ‘Stand for Safety’ campaign, supporting the platform to create a safer, kinder and more respectful internet ecosystem.
Bumble has been partnering with the Centre for Social Research (CSR), a non-profit organisation dedicated to creating a violence-free, gender-just society in India. The social platform has collaborated to release a one-of-a-kind safety handbook, enabling it to help drive awareness around digital safety and empower its community to recognise and combat online hate, bullying and discrimination on the socializing platform.
The handbook has been created in association with Nyaaya, an independent open-access digital resource, which provides simple, actionable information to educate people about their legal rights and ways to exercise them when faced with online hate and discrimination.
On the launch of the initiative, Mahima Kaul, Head of Public Policy APAC at Bumble said, “We are delighted to partner with the Centre for Social Research and Nyaaya to create this one-of-a-kind safety handbook to support our community and equip them with crucial information to recognise and combat online abuse, discrimination and harassment. Bumble is built on the core values of kindness, respect, inclusivity and equality, and safety has been central to Bumble's mission from day one. Our ‘Stand for Safety’ initiative further demonstrates our deeper commitment to creating a world where all relationships are healthy and equitable.”
The recent study of Bumble revealed how online harassment is affecting people across the country. Some of the most notable findings include:
- 1 in 2 (50%) people have encountered hateful content online* and 1 in 4 women have witnessed negative comments about their physical appearance and abuse against women at least once a week.
- 40% of people surveyed say that they have faced online hate-driven speech and bullying with regards to discrimination against a particular group or community and their physical appearance.
- More than half (52%) of people surveyed said they have felt angry after facing online hate and bullying.
- 48% of people say that facing online hate and bullying has made it hard for them to trust other people. Out of this, more than half respondents surveyed were women.
Bumble has further claimed to work towards updating its guidelines by adding more stop words in multiple Indian regional languages in continuation of its commitment to fostering a safe and inclusive space online.
