Some Member States tried to provide solutions that address the particular needs of certain social groups: — Some of the institutions that suspended family visits allowed more frequent phone or video calls so that people can remain in contact with friends and relatives. — Institutions made efforts to introduce measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (provision of sanitiser and face-masks; quarantine and physical distancing measures). — Some Member States released certain prisoners early.  ome Member States are making efforts to house homeless people, including in special —S housing units for those who become infected. — FRA evidence reflects an increased risk of gender-based violence occurring, with some Member States reporting that more women are calling support hotlines since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. Several Member States increased support measures for women and children at risk of such violence. Discrimination and racist and xenophobic incidents The Coronavirus pandemic triggered an increase in racist and xenophobic incidents against people of (perceived) Chinese or Asian origin, including verbal insults, harassment, physical aggression and online hate speech. Discrimination and bias-motivated harassment and violence are illegal under Article 21 of the Charter, Council Framework Decision 2008/913/ JHA on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia, and Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin. — Alongside incidents of hate crime against people of (perceived) Chinese or Asian origin, cases of hate speech targeting other groups, including Roma and persons with disabilities, were reported in some Member States.  eople of Chinese or Asian origin also experienced discrimination in accessing goods —P and services, including access to health services and education. — F RA’s research into minorities’ experiences of discrimination consistently shows that victims of discriminatory incidents seldom report their cases to relevant authorities. As such, the racist and xenophobic incidents related to the COVID-19 outbreak are likely to be an undercount of the real situation.  eports emerged from several Member States of politicians and other public figures —R using derogatory and xenophobic language towards people of Chinese and Asian origin, and against migrants. In other countries, governments took steps to condemn such scapegoating.  vidence collected by FRA shows that xenophobic language is also present in the media —E and online. However, some civil society organisations used social media for anti-hate speech campaigns. 11