With soccer fans from around the world arriving in Vancouver for the FIFA World Cup, two advocacy groups are coming together to share their plans for community safety during the event.
Public service announcements will be running during the tournament, focusing on abuse and other concerns people may be facing and need help with.
Battered Women’s Support Services says it is an important move as they expect to see an uptick in gender-based violence during the World Cup.
“With World Cup, with other high-profile sporting events, we know that there can be between a 20 to 40 per cent increase in intimate partner violence reports,” Angela Marie MacDougall with Battered Women’s Support Services said.
The organization is expanding its services and, in collaboration with Good Night Out Vancouver, many new safety resources are being made available, including increasing the crisis centre hours.
“We’re going to be going 24-7 as of Wednesday until the end of FIFA and we’re here to take those calls, those calls from survivors that are scared, they’re feeling disconnected, they don’t know where to go,” Johanne Lamoureux, manager of community-based response with Good Night Out Vancouver, said.
Outreach teams will be stationed in three spots around the city during the World Cup: along the Granville Street pedestrian zone, at the FIFA Fan Festival on the PNE grounds and along the last-mile route that fans heading to games will walk in False Creek.
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The volunteers will be made available to both locals and visitors.
“Being on vacation or travelling doesn’t mean that intimate partner violence can’t also happen,” MacDougall said.
“And so our outreach does include outreach to hotels and other accommodation as well as to transportation providers, including the taxi cabs and Uber.”
Good Night Out Vancouver will work with nightlife venues and hospitality staff to ensure the safety of everyone coming to the city for the FIFA World Cup.
Don’t make me mad or i’ll smack you even harder than I do to the wife.
People like Tom refuse to call a spade a spade and just spend their days playing pretend and being naive.
One has to wonder where many of these commenters come from. Their comments on almost all Global reports are vile. Unfortunately, in order for rational people to have their say we have to allow those like JV. Freedom of speech cannot and should not be silenced, no matter how vile the person commenting may be. ‘If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.’ George Orwell.
I thought Global monitors these comments. How come these comments are allowed to stay on when others that say things about the government get taken off
Then again, a lot of them will frequent the McDonald’s that I work at. Instead of taking it up the azz from local native drug dealers, I might be able to get some manly German co ck.
It makes sense. Most of the soccer fans in town for the world cup will be a bunch of greasy wifebeaters. They’re going to bet on the games and when they lose they’re going to beat their wife and kids just like their daddy did before them. Typical white trash/European behavior
Anonymous – Lol listen to the little b1tch talking tough about watching soccer. You won’t be smacking anyone old man
Easy to avoid this situation. Just Let the person watch their games in peace. Just don’t interrupt or interfere, telling them to turn it down or stop yelling. Don’t be annoying like vacuuming and especially on purpose during a game and you won’t get a smack.
The ashole of the planet will be in van
YEAH !!! STAY IN THE BL OO DY KITCHEN, and PLAY WITH YOUR POTS and PANS !!! BE NO ISSUES
VERY GOOD
These bitches just need to stay in the kitchen and shut the f *uck up and they’ll be fine.
Anytime a title mentions gender based violence, it really means violence against women.
You can tell these “volunteers” are so annoying they’ve pissed the wrong person off too many times
Lol
“we know that there can be between a 20 to 40 per cent increase”
How?
Expect to see an uptick in gender-based violence during the World Cup you claim, you are not a world-class city, street people and drugs will be world news.