What happened
The European Union decided to allow non-governmental organizations—groups focused on preventing violence against women and domestic violence—to sit in on meetings of a European Council committee as observers. This gives advocacy organizations a formal seat at the table when the EU coordinates with other European countries on violence prevention policy, rather than excluding them from the room.
Why it matters
For decades, international policy committees operated behind closed doors with only governments present; this opens one of those committees to civil society organizations that actually work with victims and survivors, which means the people closest to the problem now have a way to directly influence what governments decide.