AS Vancouver prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors during FIFA World Cup 2026, community organizations are coming together to ensure gender safety is part of the public safety conversation.
Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS) and Good Night Out Vancouver on Monday announced a coordinated, community-based response to gender-based violence during the six-week tournament period, highlighting the need to consider safety not only in stadiums and public gathering spaces, but also in homes, workplaces, nightlife venues, and communities.
While much of the planning surrounding FIFA World Cup 2026 has focused on transportation, tourism, crowds, hospitality, and public celebrations, this announcement focused on a different question: What would it look like if safer streets, safer nightlife, and safer homes were all part of the same public safety conversation?
BWSS and Good Night Out Vancouver say that together, they represent two critical components of a comprehensive safety response during FIFA World Cup 2026: prevention in public spaces and support behind closed doors.
As part of the announcement, BWSS said it will temporarily expand its specialized crisis-line services to 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the six-week tournament period. The enhanced service will ensure survivors have access to information, emotional support, safety planning, risk assessment, crisis intervention, and referrals whenever they need support.
BWSS also launched its FIFA Safety Card Initiative, a practical resource designed to increase awareness of available supports and provide accessible safety information to individuals who may be experiencing violence, coercive control, stalking, harassment, or other forms of abuse.
The event also marked the premiere of The Space Between, a new public service announcement developed by BWSS to raise awareness about coercive control and the realities many survivors experience behind closed doors.
Set during a World Cup match, the film explores coercive control through the eyes of a survivor. Rather than depicting physical violence, The Space Between focuses on fear, monitoring, isolation, tension, and survival behaviours that often precede escalation. The film asks viewers to recognize abuse before violence escalates and challenges the tendency to dismiss warning signs that are often hidden in plain sight.
Good Night Out Vancouver announced a series of FIFA-related outreach initiatives designed to support safer nightlife and public environments throughout the tournament period. The organization will work directly within nightlife and hospitality settings to support safer venues, strengthen bystander awareness, provide community outreach, and help create safer experiences for residents, workers, and visitors.
“Everyone deserves to enjoy summer events in Vancouver safely, and creating safer environments is a shared responsibility. We appreciate that the City of Vancouver recognises this and the role Good Night Out’s outreach team plays in supporting the safety of women and other marginalized genders in our city,” said Stacey Forrester, Education Director, Good Night Out Vancouver.
“During FIFA World Cup 2026, the Good Night Out Street Team will be offering support, care, and a friendly, visible presence to anyone in the public realm, including patrons, workers and people sheltering in the street. We know that large events bring increased crowds, alcohol consumption, and social activity. We also know that while most people will have a positive
experience, having additional support available helps people access assistance if needed, which contributes to a safer and more enjoyable experience for everyone. Look for our friendly team in pink.”
International research has identified increases in reports of intimate partner violence during some major football tournaments. Sport does not cause violence against women. However, periods associated with heightened emotional intensity, alcohol consumption, gambling stress, nightlife activity, and social gatherings can intensify existing patterns of coercive control and
abuse. For many survivors, the risks associated with major sporting events are not experienced in stadiums. They are experienced at home.
The announcement included a joint call for gender safety and violence prevention to be recognized as essential components of public safety planning during major international events. Both organizations emphasized that meaningful public safety requires prevention, early intervention, survivor support, and community awareness working together.
“As Vancouver prepares to welcome the world, we have a responsibility to ensure that gender is part of our public safety response. Through our collaboration with Good Night Out Vancouver, we are strengthening both prevention and intervention efforts related to gender based violence and intimate partner violence. Good Night Out is helping to create safer community and nightlife spaces, while BWSS is expanding crisis response and support for survivors. Through The Space Between and our temporary expansion to 24/7 crisis-line services, we are reminding our community that not all abuse is visible, coercive control is abuse, and survivors deserve safety. Safety changes everything,” said Angela Marie MacDougall, Executive Director, Battered Women’s Support Services.
