Tackling violence against women and girls is something we feel strongly about at ODDA. A dating landscape that genuinely works for people, one built on real human connection, can only thrive if harmful attitudes and behaviors are not allowed to go unchallenged.
Today’s announcement from the Home Office and Surviving Economic Abuse reinforces why this is so important. New data shows that almost one in five young men don’t recognise controlling someone’s spending as a form of abuse. Among the youngest age groups, the gaps are even wider, and these are the same people using dating apps and forming relationships right now.
What’s important to understand, though, is that financial abuse doesn’t sit in a box on its own. It’s part of a much bigger picture, and we won’t make real progress until we start joining the dots.
Anna Rowe, founder of LoveSaid explains it well:
“Romance Abuse is one mechanism that enables a spectrum of harms, abuses and crimes. It can begin with domestic abuse and coercive control, extending through financial abuse, sexual exploitation, reproductive coercion, visa and marriage fraud, predatory marriage, trafficking, and romance fraud. While these harms are often treated separately, they mostly share the same underlying dynamic – trust and emotional attachment are deliberately used to gain power, control, influence, resources, or other benefits from another person. Recognising these connections through the Romance Abuse Model helps us identify abuse earlier, better protect victims in a consistent way, and challenge harmful attitudes before exploitation escalates.”
That’s why we’re proud to support the government’s Enough campaign and why we’ll keep working with our member platforms to play a meaningful role in this space wherever we can.
#VAWG #EnoughCampaign #RomanceAbuse #TrustAndSafety #OnlineSafety #EconomicAbuse
