A/HRC/38/43 37. The unique features of hate-motivated crimes should be analysed in the light of broader power structures, deeply entrenched gender inequalities and rigid sexual and gender norms. Violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity can be understood as a means to regain control or as a punishment for resisting or transgressing gender norms and behaviours.29 38. According to some sources, the rising number of hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity correlates with a steep rise in ultraconservative political leaders and religious groups using their platforms to promote bigotry, dehumanize persons on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, and foster stigma and intolerance among their constituencies. 30 Such discourse is sometimes used as a means to bolster popularity and detract attention from pressing economic and internal political problems. An analysis of events in 2016 highlights the risks of regression even in progressive States, where it is fuelled by anti-rights sectors or leaders. 31 Similarly, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences noted the paradox in the advancement in the protection of individuals’ sexual rights on the one hand and the increasing escalation of hate crimes on the other (A/HRC/20/16, para. 72). 39. In some instances, discriminatory messages have also been disseminated and amplified through media outlets, reinforcing stigma of and fostering violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender non-conforming persons.32 A study undertaken in the Caribbean found that many media outlets reinforced negative stereotypes that can lead to violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender nonconforming persons.33 Similarly, a report on violence in Africa34 found that “negative and sensationalised media reporting” was one of the factors underlying an upsurge of violence against LGBTI persons, whereas in Europe, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender nonconforming persons have, in some instances, been portrayed by the media and politicians as a threatening and inferior group, posing a danger to public health and “traditional” structures.35 C. Violence and discrimination based on gender identity 40. Transphobic violence, like other forms of gender-based violence, stems from gender norms and stereotypes, enforced by unequal power dynamics. 36 It is further aggravated when it intersects with other structural inequalities resulting in poverty, homelessness and lack of job opportunities or with other grounds for discrimination. 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 December 2014; OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), Hate Crimes in the OSCE Region: Incidents and Responses, annual reports (available from http://hatecrime.osce.org/taxonomy/term/235); African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, resolution 275 on protection against violence and other human rights violations against persons on the basis of their real or imputed sexual orientation or gender identity, 2014. Blondeel et al., “Violence motivated by perception of sexual orientation” (see footnote 11). See also Rachel Jewkes, Michael Flood, James Lang, “From work with men and boys to changes of social norms and reduction of inequities in gender relations: a conceptual shift in prevention of violence against women and girls”, Lancet, vol. 385, No. 9977 (18 April 2015). Grupo Gay da Bahia, “Pessoas LGBT mortas no Brasil”, Relatório 2017. See also GLAAD, Accelerating Acceptance 2018. Carroll and Mendos, State-Sponsored Homophobia (see footnote 27). Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “Violence against LGBTI Persons” (see footnote 25). International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and United and Strong, Homophobia and Transphobia in Caribbean Media: A Baseline Study in Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and Saint Lucia, New York 2015. Coalition of African Lesbians and African Men for Sexual Health and Rights, Violence based on perceived or real sexual orientation and gender identity in Africa, 2013, p. 37. OSCE/ODIHR, Hate Crimes in the OSCE Region (see footnote 28). Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Promoting and Protecting Human Rights in relation to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics: A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions, 2016. 9