Have You Reported Sexual Assault or Violence to a Dating App? We’d Like to Hear About It.

What happens when you report an incident of rape or sexual assault to an online dating company? Not enough, according to dozens of people who have shared stories with Columbia Journalism Investigations and ProPublica.

We’re trying to figure out what dating platforms are and are not doing to stop preventable harm. To understand the full picture, we need your help gathering as many examples as we can. If you’ve flagged sexual assault or rape to Match, OkCupid, Tinder, PlentyofFish, Bumble, Grindr, J-Date, Christian Mingle or another dating platform, we hope you’ll fill out this questionnaire. Screenshots are particularly helpful.

We’d also love to hear from those with insight into how the complaint moderation process works. If you’ve worked in moderation or policy at these companies, investigated complaints as an attorney or law enforcement official or perhaps have been on the receiving end of a complaint, we hope you’ll respond too. Documentation like screenshots — including when you noticed a user back on the app — is particularly helpful.

A note on how we’ll use your responses: The following questionnaire is submitted securely. We won’t publish what you say without your permission, though we may talk about themes we notice in aggregate. You can choose to allow a reporter from Columbia Journalism Investigations or ProPublica to contact you.

If we want to go deeper into your story, we’ll explain how that reporting process works. We’re happy to answer questions.

If you’d rather talk on Signal or WhatsApp, which are more secure, send an email to datingapps@propublica.org and we will follow up.

If you have been affected by sexual assault and would like confidential help and support, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673 to talk to a trained staff member from a nearby group that helps victims of sexual assault.