begging. Selective enforcement of laws. Selective creation of laws. (The French novelist Anatole France noted this phenomenon as long ago as 1894, famously observing that "the law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges".) England and Wales The 1977 Housing (Homeless Persons) Act greatly restricted requirements for housing homeless people so that only individuals who were affected by natural disasters could receive housing accommodations from the local authorities. This led to the rejection of the majority of homeless applications received by the local government. This Act also made it difficult for homeless individuals without children to receive accommodations provided by local authorities. Rough sleeping is viewed as a criminal offence under Vagrancy Act 1824. Nowadays, this law is primarily used to move individuals without formal caution or arrest. United States Homeless people find it harder to secure employment, housing, or federal benefits with a criminal record, and therefore penalizing the act of being homeless makes exiting such a situation much more difficult. Although the court's opinion in Jones v. City of Los Angeles (see above) was vacated, the result suggests that criminalizing homelessness may be unconstitutional. Similarly, in response to growing reports of hate crimes, some state governments have proposed the addition of "people experiencing homelessness" to their hate-crimes statutes. One study in Colorado examined a common justification for anti-homelessness laws — that a "tough love" approach ultimately improved the lives of homeless people — and found that the homeless reported worse quality of life due to the laws. Another study in California found that people experiencing extreme poverty face apathy, disrespect, and discrimination from police enforcing anti-homelessness laws, resulting in a reluctance to seek services and to engage with outreach when offered. Europe The European Court of Human Rights ruled that an anti-begging ordinance in Geneva violated human rights in the 2021 Lăcătuș v. Switzerland case. The plaintiff was from the Romani people in Romania and had been fined more than 400 euros for begging. Hungary Hungary is the only country where criminalization of homelessness is addressed in its constitution, which is seen as part of a broader illiberal governance in the country. Sleeping in a public space is illegal and violators can be fined or jailed. One study found that the criminalization of homelessness increased tolerance for extralegal violence against homeless individuals. Anti-homeless architecture Anti-homeless architecture is an urban