Aura Freedom’s Advocacy on Gender-Based Violence and the FIFA World Cup 2026
As Toronto prepared to host the FIFA World Cup 2026, Aura Freedom recognized a critical opportunity—and responsibility—to ensure that gender-based violence (GBV) prevention was meaningfully integrated into tournament planning, human rights strategies, and public safety measures.
We were clear from the outset that violence against women should never be considered collateral damage.
As Aura Freedom outlined months ago and others have repeated, major sporting events do not “cause” gender-based violence. However, research has consistently linked high-stakes sporting events with short-term increases in intimate partner violence (IPV), with studies reporting increases of approximately 26–38% on match days. These risks reflect broader systems of sexism, misogyny, racism, homophobia, colonialism, and inequality that create conditions in which violence can occur and be normalized. During a major international tournament, risks may also arise in public spaces, including on public transit, in nightlife settings, fan zones, stadiums, and throughout the city.
Aura Freedom therefore advocated for FIFA 2026 to be understood not only as a major sporting event, but as an opportunity to invest in prevention, engage men and boys, promote healthy masculinity and cultures of respect, and strengthen systems that protect women, girls, and gender-diverse people.
Aura Freedom was Advocating a Year Before the World Cup Started
For more than a year leading up to the tournament, Aura Freedom participated in the FIFA Human Rights Program Advisory Body, consistently bringing a gender and GBV lens to discussions, meetings, and planning processes. Aura Freedom emphasized the opportunity for FIFA and host cities to engage large numbers of men and boys in meaningful conversations about GBV prevention, both during the tournament and as part of its longer-term legacy.
Aura Freedom also repeatedly raised concerns that GBV was not being sufficiently considered within Toronto’s FIFA planning processes. This was particularly concerning given Toronto’s existing commitments and infrastructure related to GBV, including the City’s declaration of GBV as an epidemic, its GBV/IPV Working Group, Gender Equity Office, and dedicated Champion to Eradicate Intimate Partner and Gender-Based Violence.
Aura Freedom advocated for greater collaboration between FIFA planning structures and these existing City stakeholders, with the goal of reducing silos and ensuring that existing GBV expertise and infrastructure informed tournament planning.
Aura Freedom also submitted a proposal for a FIFA Legacy Initiative that would have used the tournament as an opportunity to engage men and boys in GBV prevention. Although the City did not select the proposal for funding, Aura Freedom continued to advocate for the underlying opportunity: using the unprecedented reach of the World Cup to address the root causes of violence and build a meaningful prevention legacy.
Our Analysis of Toronto’s FIFA Human Rights Action Plan
As a member of the FIFA Human Rights Program Advisory Body, Aura Freedom conducted an official analysis of the City of Toronto’s draft FIFA Human Rights Action Plan and identified significant gaps related to GBV, violence against women, and IPV.
At the time of Aura Freedom’s review, none of the terms “gender-based violence,” “violence against women,” or “intimate partner violence” appeared in the draft plan. The only GBV-related initiative identified was support for Victim Services Toronto’s Ask for Angela campaign.
While Aura Freedom recognized the value of Ask for Angela, the organization emphasized that responding to violence after it occurs is not sufficient. Toronto also requires investment in primary prevention and coordinated responses to GBV—needs that have been repeatedly identified by the Domestic Violence Death Review Committee, the Renfrew County Inquest, the Nova Scotia Mass Casualty Commission, the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and others.
Aura Freedom formally submitted its analysis and concrete recommendations to the City on May 4. The organization also shared its concerns with the City’s Gender Equity Office and the Toronto GBV/IPV Working Group.
Aura Freedom highlighted Vancouver’s FIFA Human Rights Action Plan as an example of a stronger approach. Vancouver explicitly identified GBV prevention as a priority area, connected its work to the city’s Women’s Equity Strategy and other coordinated action plans, and specifically recognized women and gender-diverse people within its framework.
Aura Freedom argued that Toronto had an opportunity to demonstrate similar leadership.
Advocacy Led to Changes in Toronto’s FIFA Human Rights Plan – But Too Late for Meaningful Coordination
Aura Freedom’s advocacy contributed to a change in Toronto’s FIFA Human Rights planning. At the time Aura Freedom conducted its formal analysis, the City’s draft Human Rights Action Plan contained no meaningful or substantive reference to gender-based violence, violence against women, or intimate partner violence. In fact, the terms “gender-based violence” and “intimate partner violence” did not appear in the draft plan at all. The only GBV-related initiative identified was support for Victim Services Toronto’s Ask for Angela campaign.
Aura Freedom formally submitted its analysis and concrete recommendations to the City on May 4, highlighting these gaps and emphasizing that a major international sporting event presented an important opportunity to proactively invest in GBV prevention, engage men and boys, and coordinate with the City’s existing GBV infrastructure.
Following Aura Freedom’s advocacy, the City of Toronto’s FIFA team contacted Aura Freedom, thanked the organization for raising the issue, and advised that gender-based violence and intimate partner violence had subsequently been incorporated into the Human Rights Plan. Aura Freedom appreciated the City’s responsiveness and the recognition that GBV/IPV needed to be acknowledged within the human rights framework.
However, the response came too late to support the development and implementation of a coordinated, tournament-specific GBV prevention strategy. Rather than outlining new or proactively planned measures developed specifically in response to the anticipated risks associated with FIFA, the City pointed to existing programs and initiatives—namely police programs.
For Aura Freedom, this highlighted a fundamental gap in the planning approach: simply naming GBV and IPV in a Human Rights Plan does not, in itself, address the issue. Nor does pointing to existing services constitute a coordinated prevention strategy. Many women experiencing violence do not report to police, and therefore a response that relies heavily on police programs cannot be considered a comprehensive approach to GBV prevention.
Aura Freedom had advocated for GBV to be embedded into FIFA planning from the outset, with coordinated prevention measures, survivor-centred supports, public education, engagement of men and boys, and collaboration across the City’s existing GBV and gender-equity structures. The organization had specifically called for greater coordination between the FIFA Human Rights Program Advisory Body, the City’s GBV/IPV Working Group, Gender Equity Office, and Champion to Eradicate Intimate Partner and Gender-Based Violence.
The distinction is important: prevention requires planning before harm occurs—not simply acknowledging the risk once it has been raised. Toronto had an opportunity to use the World Cup to proactively strengthen its GBV prevention infrastructure and demonstrate leadership in this area. While Aura Freedom’s advocacy helped ensure GBV and IPV were ultimately recognized within the City’s Human Rights Plan, the late-stage inclusion did not replace the need for the coordinated, substantive prevention strategy Aura Freedom had been advocating for throughout the planning process.
Building Collective Advocacy
Because GBV prevention had not been meaningfully integrated into Toronto’s World Cup planning from the outset, Aura Freedom spearheaded a collaborative advocacy piece with fellow members of the Toronto GBV/IPV Working Group, including the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, White Ribbon Canada, Women’s Habitat, and YWCA Toronto.
This collaborative advocacy reinforced a central message: while community organizations can identify risks, provide expertise, and advocate for change, the responsibility for proactively addressing the safety implications of major sporting events ultimately rests with governments, institutions, event organizers, and other decision-makers.
Aura Freedom’s advocacy emphasized that women, girls, and gender-diverse people deserve to be safe everywhere, including at home, on public transit, in fan zones, nightlife spaces, stadiums, streets, and throughout their communities.
Continuing Advocacy During and After FIFA
Aura Freedom continued its advocacy throughout the FIFA World Cup, maintaining a focus on GBV prevention, public safety, accountability, and the need to understand the tournament’s impact on communities.
Recently, Councillor Lily Cheng brought forward a motion at Toronto City Council directing City staff to examine whether incidents of IPV and GBV changed during the FIFA World Cup 2026, and how any changes affected communities and municipal services across Toronto.
This represents an important step toward understanding the actual impacts of hosting a major international sporting event and ensuring that future planning is informed by evidence.
Understanding whether and how the World Cup affected rates of IPV and GBV can help identify impacts on survivors, communities, frontline services, and municipal systems; strengthen accountability; and ensure that future host cities are better prepared to prevent violence and support survivors.
A Legacy of Prevention
Throughout its FIFA advocacy, Aura Freedom consistently advanced the same core message: gender-based violence is not collateral damage.
Major sporting events present significant opportunities to engage men and boys, challenge harmful gender norms, promote healthy masculinity, and build cultures of respect and inclusion. But realizing that potential requires intentional planning, investment, coordination, and leadership.
Aura Freedom’s work before and during FIFA 2026 sought to ensure that GBV prevention was recognized as a fundamental component of human rights, public safety, city planning, and community well-being…not an afterthought.
Through its participation in FIFA’s Human Rights Program Advisory Body, formal analysis and recommendations to the City, proposed Legacy Initiative, engagement with City stakeholders, collaborative advocacy with the Toronto GBV/IPV Working Group, and continued public advocacy during and after the tournament, Aura Freedom helped bring GBV into Toronto’s FIFA human rights conversation and contributed to concrete changes in the City’s planning.
The organization will continue advocating for the lessons from FIFA 2026 to inform future major-event planning, with the goal of ensuring that prevention is embedded from the beginning and that the safety of women, girls, gender-diverse people, and survivors is treated as fundamental, not secondary.
