(Brussels) The European Union and the United Nations join forces against “any form of violence against women and girls”: it all started today in New York, where the “Spotlight” initiative was launched during the UN General Assembly. As told by the European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Neven Mimica, it will be “a big step forward: with half a billion euros as an initial fund and the UN’s full support, I believe that together we can change women’s and girls’ lives for the better and achieve truly sustainable development”. The campaign involves setting out plans to “eradicate any form of violence” such as sexual abuse, human trafficking and exploitation, including mobbing, killing of women and domestic violence. Scopes of action will range from legal to political and institutional ones, with preventative rules and measures laid down too. “Eradicating violence against all women and girls is a prerequisite for inclusive, fair and sustainable development”, UN General Secretary António Guterres stated. Violence against women is “one of the most widespread, devastating breaches of human rights”, which affects over one billion women, i.e. about 35% of them, a rate that in some countries goes up to as much as 70%. Then, there are child brides (250 million under 15) and over 200 million women forced to have female genital mutilation.