Bumble Giving Out Campus Safety Kits to College Students
Contributed by: kellyseal on Wednesday, October 18 2023 @ 11:04 am
Last modified on Wednesday, October 18 2023 @ 11:16 am
Dating app Bumble is distributing campus safety kits to college students to help them date more safely on college campuses.
The Austin-based dating app company will distribute hundreds of drink spike prevention products from NightCap, along with safety alarms from She’s Birdie, to students at the University of Texas in Austin as well as 160 other campuses around the country, according to Axios.
The drink spike prevention product looks like a hair scrunchie according to Axios[*1] , and can fit over the top of a glass to cover it, leaving room for only a straw. Another selling point is that women can wear them in their hair or around their wrists until they need them, making them easy to carry and use.
The alarms attach to keychains and light up and ring when needed.
"Since day one, NightCap has been hyper-focused on promoting safety and vigilance on campuses across the country," said Shirah Benarde, founder and CEO of NightCap[*2] , in Bumble’s press release. "Not only are we honored to partner with Bumble and She's Birdie on this initiative to help spread the word and empower students everywhere, but we're also inspired by the clear example of major brands taking action and speaking out on such an important cause."
The safety-minded partnerships with Bumble are part of the company’s initiative during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. College students are a particular focus for the dating company as they are a large demographic using the app, and researchers estimate that more than 50 percent of all college sexual assaults occur during the first several weeks of school starting up in the fall. Part of this includes incidents of drink spiking, which are at a peak during this time.
The University of Texas received almost 1,200 reports regarding sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking incidents during the 2021-2022 school year, according to Axios. Since 2019, universities across Texas, both private and public, are required to publicly share reports of dating violence, sexual assault and other related incidents.
Bumble also partners with Bloom to provide trauma support online for those suffering from domestic violence and abuse, and continues its partnership with the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Bumble has worked to create a safer experience for users on its platform in the courts and state legislatures as well, making it illegal to send explicit photos without consent of the person receiving them in several states.
The safety kits will be distributed on campuses throughout the month of October, and She’s Birdie will be offering a 20 percent discount on its products for a limited time as well.
For more on this dating service, check out our review of the Bumble dating app.