3.5 Gender, intersectionality and hate crime Hate crimes target people for who they are or are perceived to be. At the same time, hate crimes are message crimes, and the message of rejection and exclusion in each attack resonates throughout the community, from family members, to those sharing the identity of the victim, to neighbours, co-workers and the public. In order to develop effective policy responses, ODIHR works to improve understanding of different forms of hate crime. In 2019, the Office focused on gender-based hate crimes, as well as those committed from multiple bias motivations. While many OSCE participating States submit data on both gender-based and multiple-bias hate crimes to ODIHR, these crimes are often overlooked and misunderstood. Very often, the gender bias element of hate crime is neglected, despite the scope and prevalence of gender-based and multiple-bias crimes. In order to define and categorize such crimes, and to translate key concepts into practical policy measures, ODIHR held two expert roundtables in 2019 for criminal justice staff, academics and civil society representatives. These events examined the application of legal provisions in the 21 OSCE participating States that track gender-based hate crime, and the potential for integrating an intersectional perspective into national hate crime responses. This helped increase the visibility of victims and potential targets of hate crime, and make their voice heard when approaches to countering gender-based and multiple-bias hate crimes are developed. 54 DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE OSCE Examples of gender-based and multiple-bias hate crimes reported in ODIHR’s 2019 Hate Crime Report: • Five women were subjected to humiliating and brutal sexual and physical assaults, including rape. (Czech Republic, 2018) • A female politician was subjected to misogynist threats and physically assaulted when stones were thrown at her. (Austria, January 2019) • Participants of a rally marking International Women’s Day were physically assaulted, including with acid, by a hate group. (Ukraine, March 2018) • A Muslim woman wearing a headscarf was subjected to anti-Muslim and misogynist insults and a lit cigarette was thrown at her in the street. (Poland, April 2018) • Several Moroccan Muslim women were repeatedly sexually assaulted while employed as migrant labourers on a farm. (Spain, June 2018)