Tinder, Match asking users to urge senators to pass Violence Against Women Act

Tinder, Match and other online dating services are calling on their users to ask their senators to pass the Violence Against Women Act as the House-approved bill to reauthorize the statute continues to languish in the upper chamber.

The online dating services — including Match, Tinder, OkCupid, BLK, Chispa and Plenty of Fish, all of which are part of the company Match Group — have prompted their users to send an email to their senators “with one click,” urging them to support the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

“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 groups wrote in a statement.

“So today, we are asking you to join us and make your voice heard by contacting your Senator to urge them to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act,” they added.

The pre-written email provided to users to send to their senators says the legislation is needed to supply resources for survivors of violence and to aid in their recovery.

“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,” the pre-written email reads.

“This issue cannot wait, because every day this law has the potential to impact someone’s mother, daughter, friend or coworker,” the email adds.

The Violence Against Women Act, originally enacted in 1994, lapsed in 2019 and has not been reauthorized since.

The House in March passed a bill to reapprove the measure largely along party lines, with only 29 Republicans joining Democrats in advancing it, but the legislation has since stalled in the Senate.

The bill would provide grants to state and local governments for programs addressing domestic abuse, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking, in addition to further narrowing the so-called boyfriend loophole to prohibit dating partners convicted of domestic violence or abuse from buying or owning guns.

Current law only restricts gun purchases for spouses or formerly married partners who were convicted of abuse or are under a restraining order.

Republicans opposed to the bill have taken issue with the boyfriend loophole provision, contending it poses a restriction to gun rights. Some have also expressed resistance to language that furnishes protections for transgender individuals.

Last month, Match Group CEO Shar Dubey penned an op-ed in Fortune calling on Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.

“All of us — companies, communities, and yes, lawmakers—need to do more. Violence against women is a major public health problem and violation of human rights that needs to be acknowledged and must be urgently addressed if we truly want our daughters to grow up in a more equitable society,” Dubey wrote.

“That is why I am 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,” she added.