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VERA

You are not alone.

Connection is power.

For many people, the hardest part of gender-based violence is the isolation and the second-guessing. That no one would understand, that there is nowhere to turn that truly gets it, and the question: am I overreacting?

What pulls people through is rarely a form or a hotline. It's other people. Reading another survivor's words and feeling recognised. Reaching out to their community, even when it's hard, and finding you were never as alone as it felt. Reading up on what is a crime, and how the law protects you.

What works is connecting, sharing stories, and taking action. One in three women, around 76 million in the EU alone. Together, we change laws, systems, and how the next person is treated.

You're not alone, and you have rights.

Every country page in Know Your Rights sets out what counts as a crime under local law, the official support lines you can call, and where to turn for help.

Know your rights

If no safe local option is available, the WAVE network (Women Against Violence Europe) can help you find a member service in or near your country.

Ways to feel less alone

Connect

Find people and groups working on this in your country, or learn from what's working elsewhere.

Open the NGO directory

Act

Turn recognition into change through advocacy groups, campaigns, and practical ways to get involved.

Open the action toolkit

A shelf for recognition

These are books by people who have lived it, and by those who have spent years trying to understand it. Many survivors say a book was the first place they felt truly recognised. We've added StoryGraph links so you can explore each book first. It's an independent, woman-founded alternative to the big platforms. This shelf will keep growing.

Memoir & survivor writing

Know My Name · Chanel Miller

A luminous memoir reclaiming a survivor's story in her own words.

In the Dream House · Carmen Maria Machado

A groundbreaking memoir of an abusive relationship.

Educated · Tara Westover

Surviving a violent, controlling family and finding a way out.

Understanding it: writing by experts

No Visible Bruises · Rachel Louise Snyder

Reframes domestic violence as a public issue, not a private one.

Why Does He Do That? · Lundy Bancroft

The book many survivors name as the one that helped them understand.

In Control · Jane Monckton-Smith

How coercive control escalates, in eight stages, toward murder.

Coercive Control · Evan Stark

The foundational work that reframed abuse as a pattern of control.

Dutch & European voices

Zij is van mij · Saskia Belleman

Why femicide is so underestimated in the Netherlands.

Ik ga leven · Lale Gül

A bestselling memoir of coercive control and escape from an oppressive upbringing. (Dutch)

Wat liefde kan doen · Lotte Kok

A survivor's account of intimate-partner violence, woven with others' stories. (Dutch)

Le Consentement · Vanessa Springora

The memoir that reshaped France's consent debate. (French)

Triste tigre · Neige Sinno

Prix Femina–winning survivor memoir on childhood abuse. (French)

Íbamos a ser reinas · Nuria Varela

A leading reference on gender violence and the complicities that sustain it. (Spanish)

Die stille Gewalt · Asha Hedayati

A family-law lawyer on how institutions fail abused women. (German)

AktenEinsicht · Christina Clemm

Case-file portraits of women facing male violence and the justice system. (German)

Ferite a morte · Serena Dandini

Monologues giving voice to femicide victims. (Italian)

Flickan och skulden · Katarina Wennstam

A landmark book on how society and courts treat rape victims. (Swedish)

Where to buy: women-owned bookshops

When you're ready to buy, choose a bookshop owned or led by women. These are independent shops across Europe that ship online. Wherever we can, we point you to women-owned places.

  • Netherlands · Utrecht

    Savannah Bay

    The Netherlands' longest-running feminist bookshop, woman-owned.

  • Netherlands · Amsterdam

    Xantippe Unlimited

    Grew out of Amsterdam's women's bookshop; woman-co-owned.

  • United Kingdom · Brighton

    The Feminist Bookshop

    Explicitly feminist, woman-founded; ships UK and internationally.

  • United Kingdom · Edinburgh

    Lighthouse Bookshop

    Queer-owned and woman-led, intersectional feminist.

  • Spain · Madrid

    Librería Mujeres

    Historic feminist bookshop specialising in women's writing.

  • Spain · Barcelona

    El Noa Noa

    LGBTIQ+ and feminist bookshop; ships across Spain and Europe.

  • France · Paris

    Librairie Majo

    Feminist and LGBTQIA+ bookshop; ships across France and the EU.

  • Belgium · Brussels

    Tulitu

    Feminist, women-run bookshop. Order online for in-store pickup (postal shipping may be available on request).

  • Germany · Berlin

    She Said

    Feminist bookshop, women and queer authors only, ships within Germany.

  • Italy · Rome

    Libreria Tuba

    Feminist bookshop, women and queer authors only.

  • Ireland · Dublin

    The Company of Books

    Woman-owned independent bookshop with nationwide online shipping.

  • Poland · Łódź

    Herbooks

    Poland's self-described only feminist bookshop, ships within Poland.

  • Austria · Vienna

    ChickLit

    Austria's dedicated feminist bookshop; order online and ship.

  • Denmark · Copenhagen

    The Pond

    Queer, intersectional-feminist bookshop; order by email and ship.

  • Estonia · Tallinn

    Puänt

    Independent bookshop founded and run by two women; ships within Estonia.

  • Lithuania · Vilnius

    Keistoteka

    Women-owned independent bookshop with online sales.

  • Switzerland · Bern

    Queer Books

    queer-feminist bookshop, online shop

Can't find one near you? The Feminist Bookshop and Category Is Books both ship internationally. You can also explore any title first on StoryGraph, a woman-founded platform.

Know a women-owned bookshop we should add? Tell us.

Finding each other should not be this hard. That's part of why this exists.

Find the NGO directory