The Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS) says it is increasing its outreach in Vancouver during the FIFA World Cup to provide safe spaces for victims of domestic violence.

In partnership with Good Night Out Vancouver (GNOV), both groups will expand their resources to “ensure survivors have access to information, emotional support, safety planning, risk assessment, crisis intervention, and referrals.”

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Among other measures, the BWSS’s hotline service will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and GNOV will be present at various nightlife venues to raise awareness of the issue.

BWSS says that those community initiatives are necessary because the number of domestic violence incidents tends to increase during times of major sports events.

“We know that there can be between 20 and 40 per cent increase in intimate partner violence reports and we are intending to be a resource for anybody that is concerned about that and wants support,” said BWSS executive director Angela Marie MacDougall.

The BWSS’s announcement comes amid the release of a recent study by UNESCO and United Nations Women that indicates a correlation between an increase in domestic violence during sport events.

The study is quoting international police reports that record an increase of domestic violence by more than 33 per cent during sport tournaments.

Increase in domestic violence during Winter Games 2010

MacDougall says that an uptick in calls during the Olympic Winter Games in 2010 confirms this trend for Vancouver.

“We tracked our stats, and there was a little bit of a bump in calls for service around bigger events within the same day or a couple of days after,” she told reporters at a press conference.

“Our intention is around intervention, but also prevention and awareness, and that is also why we have a public safety announcement in the form of several videos that will focus on coercive control.”

As part of the on-the-ground outreach campaign, crews will be handing out safety cards.

“Those have a list of sorts of criteria that sometimes people are asking if they’re concerned about their safety, that can be prompts to thinking about safety,” MacDougall explained.

The UN study adds that data from Canadian police departments indicate that domestic violence is often underreported and escalates in moments of social stress, crowding, and alcohol-fuelled environments.