Dating icks aside (looking at you, gentlemen posing with pictures of fish!) online matchmaking resources have spotlighted the importance, nay essentialness, of consent. For that reason, the world’s most popular dating app, recently teamed up with Chanel Contos, a fierce advocate for sexual consent education, to launch the Tinder Dating Dictionary: Consent Edition V2 and an upcoming consent course.
In addition to some sobering statistics (research conducted by Tinder and YouGov in Australia reveals that 45% of Aussie Gen Z and Millennial dating app users know ‘little or nothing’ about consent!) Chanel’s passion for spreading consent education was paramount to this partnership.
“From my professional experiences, it was clear that many Australians lacked a comprehensive understanding of consent and boundaries. I believe it’s everyone’s responsibility to make the world a better place. And so, I’m excited to partner with Tinder to provide resources for users that can help them have healthier and safer relationships,” she says.
For that reason, initiatives like the Dating Dictionary: Consent Edition V2 and Tinder’s School of Swipe (where the consent course will be living when it launches later this year) were created. Offering up clear and easy-to-understand info on everything from coercive control to healthy sexual relationships.
According to Chanel, some of the important concepts covered in the dictionary include coercive control, sexual harm and gender norms.
“It’s important for young people to be able to define these terms so that they can identify them more easily. For example, Australia is starting to criminalise coercive control. Yet, many people still don’t understand what these behaviours constitute. Gender norms are another big one that comes into play when dating. These are things almost everyone feels but may not be privy to the explicit concept. For example, pressure to pay for a date, or pressure to look or dress in a certain way,” she adds.
When it comes to challenges, Chanel doesn’t hold back. Citing the lack of resources available to young people and traditional media – which can paint an outdated picture of romance. But, she’s optimistic about the role platforms like Tinder can play in changing the game. By providing educational resources and sparking conversations about consent that feel real and relatable.
“I think one of the biggest challenges is that we infrequently or inadequately give young people resources. Which is exactly the gap we were trying to fill with this!” says Chanel. Who is hopeful that these resources will be as easy to access as swiping right on your next match.
Looking to the future, Chanel sees a real shift happening when it comes to consent education. “As dating apps such as Tinder have become the way modern connections are made, I believe the best way they can contribute to a safer and more respectful dating environment is to continue using their trusted brand presence to provide resources, shape culture to normalise these conversations and take away any misperceived ‘awkwardness’ or confusion around the topic.”