Statistics show that one in four or one in five women in Europe have been victims of male violence, and it is one of the most important causes of mortality for women in Europe. Given the enormity of the issue for society as a whole, and the numerous individual lives devastated, the silence surrounding these realities are ever the more unacceptable. Violence against women is not only a huge important public health issue, and it is also costly for society. Violence against women is also a matter of democracy, human rights and equality. The 16 days of activism this year celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, highlighting that women’s rights are an integral part of the human rights struggle and that women and girls have a right to grow up free from male violence. Policymakers must do all they can to uphold this basic right if Europe wants to aspire to be a region that respect the fundamental principles of human rights and gender equality.