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"Break the Silence to End the Violence": GBV as a Global Crisis and the Launch of the Young European Movement's Campaign


Victoria Anastasia Aranowicz and Will Kingston-Cox attended the launch of the Young European Movement’s (YEM) “Break the Silence to End the Violence” in both an organisational partnership capacity for Europinion, and to report on the campaign launch itself. This report highlights the salient points of the campaign, in addition to reaffirming Europinion’s commitment to fostering open discourse around the important topic of gender-based violence and violence against women and girls and supporting YEM’s vital mission. 


One in three women experiences gender-based violence (GBV). 


In 2023, 8.02 billion people inhabited the Earth. Women were 49.7% of the global population. That is equivalent to roughly 3.9 billion people. Therefore, an estimated 1.28 billion women will experience gender-based violence in their lifetime


Not a hundred. Not a thousand. Not a million. Over a billion women will be subjected to GBV over the course of their lifespan. 


On the contrary, one in three men believe feminism does “more harm than good”. According to an IPSOS poll, they are “sceptical” about the benefits of the ideology, with 23% maintaining that it has aided “in men losing out in terms of economic or political power or socially”. 


About one in six men (17%) “say violence against women is often provoked by the victim”.  About one in five men (20%) “say that women who report being abused often make up or exaggerate claims”. 


Five in six women (83%) who are raped do not report it. 

Nearly one in one (98%) of sexual offences are committed by men. 


Seeing as all these statistics are the most recent in surveying GBV, there is no question whether violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a pressing modern issue. 


Campaign Launch

On Thursday, 23 January 2025, the European House in London hosted four speakers to officially launch the Young European Movement’s “Break the Silence to End the Violence” campaign against GBV. Moderated by journalist Emma Nelson, Frances Fitzgerald, a Member of the Gender Equality Advisory Council to the G7 and a pioneer in women’s rights, Sanna Lepola, Director-General for Parliamentary Democracy Partnerships at the European Parliament, Lee Chambers, founder of Male Allies UK and Essentialise Workplace Wellbeing, and Cecilia Jastrzembska, YEM President and Co-Director and organiser of the campaign, held an hour-and-a-half discussion on the global crisis that is GBV. Europinion is privileged to be an organisational partner of YEM’s vital campaign to ‘break the silence’, one we hope builds the firm foundations from which we can definitively ‘end the violence’. 


The data presented on VAWG in the United Kingdom and the European Union was shocking. One woman is killed every three days in the UK. Two women a day in the EU. The impact of GBV costs the UK and EU economies £40bn and €366bn annually. As of 2024, VAWG has been declared a national emergency in the UK. 



President of the Young European Movement, Cecilia Jastrzembska, and Managing Director of Europinion,            Will Kingston-Cox, 23 January 2025                                                                                                                                  Image: Victoria Anastasia Aranowicz/Europinion
President of the Young European Movement, Cecilia Jastrzembska, and Managing Director of Europinion, Will Kingston-Cox, 23 January 2025 Image: Victoria Anastasia Aranowicz/Europinion

In speaking about recent studies on women’s rights, Sanna Lepola highlighted a poll taken in Finland, a nation recognised as one of the leaders in gender equality. In the “happiest country in the world,” per the United Nations, 50% of men deduce that feminist activism constrains them. A whopping 60% of Finnish men ages 18-79 viewed gender equality as already being achieved in Finland. According to the Coalition of Finnish Women’s Association (NYTKIS), a sobering 21% of men believe that women may deserve the violence they experience. The Helsinki Times concluded their article on the NYTKIS survey released at the end of 2024 with a chilling quote from one of the respondents: “If women were to take roles that come more natural to them, it’d also reduce violence significantly.” 


GBV and the Suppression of Women in Politics 

With this rise in GBV and VAWG, women have stepped back significantly from taking authoritative positions. This, unfortunately, is unsurprising. The growing trend of digital misogyny has extended into broader political discourse. The normalisation of hate speech under the guise of “free speech” has been exacerbated by social media platforms now removing fact-checking, in light of new alignment with the Trump administration, leaving disinformation and misogynistic narratives to proliferate unchecked. 


Sadly, violence against women in politics is not a new phenomenon. Jo Cox’s assassination in 2016 was a stark reminder of the dangers women in leadership face. With fewer women running for office, an increasing reluctance to take controversial stances, and a reduction in constituent meetings due to safety concerns, democracy itself is at risk.


The 2024 European Parliament elections saw a decline in female representation–the lowest since 1979. Women are leaving politics, and as a result, legislative priorities are shifting. With the rise of traditionalist and far-right movements across Europe and within the European Union, it is more important than ever to amplify the voices of women and girls to resist the scourge of violence that is a stain on our democratic societies. Traditional principles are politically weaponised by parties such as the FPÖ and AfD, where "family values" rhetoric masks the erosion of women’s rights. A pluralistic democracy cannot function when half the population is systematically excluded from decision-making. 


The retreat of women from political life is reflective of a wider societal schism. Young men and women are increasingly moving in different ideological directions. An IPSOS poll revealed that 46% of men believe feminism has gone ‘too far’ to the point of discriminating against men, no thanks to the proliferation of ‘toxic masculine’ influencers, such as Andrew Tate. This radicalisation of men, particularly young men, into misogynistic ideologies is fuelled both by the disappearance of  male spaces for healthy identity formation and the nefarious online influencers who seek to exploit and capitalise off of this masculine adolescent discontent. As a result, teenage boys are increasingly drawn into extremist online communities via platforms like Discord and Telegram.


These online spaces validate the frustrations of boys and men, yet exposing them to consumerist grooming, violent pornography, and harmful gender norms, entrenching the radicalisation of young men searching for a sense of place and belonging. “Toxic masculinity” is not inherent–it is a manufactured and monetised ideology designed to profit from male discontent. In our capacity as a campaign partner, Europinion calls for a concerted effort to counteract this manipulation and create positive pathways for young men to develop their masculinity in a healthy, responsible manner. 


Ending GBV requires breaking the socialisation of silence. We must address the "gender content gap"—the vast disparity in how male and female experiences are represented in media, academia, and politics. Conversations on prostitution, pornography, and violence against women in workplaces remain largely unspoken. But change is possible. The five D’s of bystander prevention—distract, delegate, document, delay, and direct—equip individuals to intervene safely and effectively in situations of gendered violence.


Europinion stands firmly in support of policies that empower women, protect survivors, and dismantle the systemic structures that enable GBV and VAWG. Europinion remains steadfast in its commitment to raising awareness, challenging institutions, and advocating for a future free from gender-based violence. Together with YEM and the broader campaign’s fantastic partners, we can break the silence to end the violence. 


Silence is complicity. Now is the time to speak. Now is the time to act.


Image: Victoria Anastasia Aranowicz/Europinion

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