At least 380 regional and 70 state-run feminist organizations as well as members from Spanish main political parties, trade unions and non-governmental groups, took part in the rally.

Participants from other cities travelled to the Spanish capital on at least 300 buses, organizers of the protest told AFP. All in all 21,000 participants traveled to take part in the rally, AP estimated.

The activists were holding banners that read, “Stop machista violence!” and they chanted, "We aren't all here, the dead are missing!"

"The economic crisis means many women have not left their aggressors because they do not have the means," Marisa Teijero, 61, told AFP, adding that "it is more important than ever to unlock public funds."

One of the protesters, Angela Gonzalez, told AP that her daughter was murdered by her abusive ex-husband in 2003. She said that since 1995 more than 1,390 women have been murdered in Spain by men.

"I am an example of a woman who's been able to get out of domestic violence," said Olga Aranza, a 45-year-old teacher.

According to 34-year-old architect Miguel Navarro, “it's essential that we men also take part in this demonstration so that we send a clear message to women, telling them they are not alone in this struggle."

"In Spain, there is still a need to educate men so that they put an end to machismo," IT specialist Nacho Molina, 49, said.

At least 41 women were killed by their partners in 2014, and only seven of them filed official complaints against their attacker before their deaths, according to the Spanish government.