Beyond the First Date: How Matchmakers Offer Ongoing Support

Taking your first steps back into the world of dating can be daunting, especially after the break down of a long term relationship or a period away from the dating scene. But let’s say you have taken the plunge, thought long and hard about the qualities you want in a prospective partner, signed up and sat back to see what happens awaiting a hopefully successful date. Then there’s a phone call or email to say you have a great match and suddenly it hits you that you have to go on an actual date. An actual date in the real world with a person who might just be right for you. For lots of us is the truly terrifying part but with some good planning and perhaps a little deep breathing you can have a successful and even fun date!

As the Match.com rape trial drew to a close today and Jason Lawrance was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, the trial judge Gregory Dickinson expressed grave concerns for the safety of women on Match.com and other online sites.

Says Judge Dickinson ‘I would like to see if lessons can be learned from the use of such sites’ and he called for prosecutors to examine the standards of supervision on online sites.

The National Crime Agency has announced that crimes linked to online dating were up by more than 100% in 2015, according to figures released this week. 378 crimes were linked to online dating during the year, which is up from 180 in 2013 and an increase of more than 100%. Worryingly the figures between 2013 and 2015 now stand at a very significant 828, this includes 88 reports of rape, 49 sexual attacks, 180 instances of violent crime, 115 cases of harassment and 43 instances of blackmail according to the Daily Mail Online, with 85% of victims reported to be female.

Workplace dating is one of those topics that can be a bit taboo and should you really date someone in your workplace. Well it happens. Maybe it has happened to you before or maybe not. We explore what you should do if you do decide to date someone in your workplace and give you the best chance of it working.