Better dating, built together – ODDA launches its Consumer Safety Panel
A new panel of consumers, experts and advocates will help ODDA’s members raise the bar on safety, and give the people who use dating and social discovery services a voice in how the sector sets its standards.
Our members are in the business of connecting people. Today, at the ODDA Annual Conference and during Romance Abuse Awareness Week, we’re connecting them with the people they serve.
The ODDA Consumer Safety Panel brings together 12 to 16 people who care about making online dating safer, across four groups: people with lived experience of romance fraud or abuse, everyday users, independent experts and advocates. What they share is a belief that this industry can thrive and keep people safe at the same time, and a wish to help make that happen.
Founding members include Becky Holmes, author and romance fraud expert, Olivier Kraft, financial crime specialist at Proud Against Fraud, Jamie Love, entrepreneur and LGBT+ activist, and Melanie Graham, author of Chosen and campaigner.
What the panel means for members
The panel is a new resource for ODDA members. They’ll be able to tap into it to sense-check new safety features and policies, understand what users really experience, and learn from people who have been through the worst of it. Members with a question for the panel can bring it directly to Ashleigh Bishop at ODDA.
What it means for consumers
The panel gives the people who use these services a direct voice in how our sector sets its standards. Its input will feed into ODDA’s standards, our policy positions and our research, and we’ll share what we learn.
How it works
The panel is co-facilitated by ODDA and Anna Rowe, co-founder of LoveSaid, and is the first pilot of Anna’s Romance Abuse Framework, which ODDA has formally endorsed. It works in a trauma-informed way: members share only what they choose to. The panel meets for the first time in the coming weeks, when it will agree its first piece of work.
Because behind every case is a person.
“Our members work every day to keep people safe. Those standards are stronger when the people they protect help write them. The panel gives lived experience a permanent place in how our sector makes decisions.” – Simon Newman, CEO, ODDA
Get involved
If you’d like to find out more about joining the panel, or you’re an ODDA member with a question you’d like to bring to it, contact us.
If you’ve been affected by romance fraud, LoveSaid, the romance fraud charity, offers specialist support. You can also report it to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040.
