On October 24, 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled in J.D. and A. v. the United Kingdom that a reduction in housing benefits based on occupancy violated Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) to the ECHR. A press release issued by the Court explains that the applicant in the case challenged UK housing benefits rules that require a reduction in housing benefits for under-occupation of social housing. The applicant, a victim of violent sexual crime, harassment, and stalking by a former partner, was provided with housing under the UK's Sanctuary Scheme, which adapts social housing specifically for victims of domestic violence by, for example, building in panic rooms. The housing that the applicant and her son reside in is a three-bedroom property with a panic room. However, because the property is built for three occupants, the applicant's housing benefit was reduced. She claimed that the rules unlawfully discriminate against victims of domestic violence. The Court found that treating the applicant the same as others subject to the benefits rules was disproportionate because it did not take into consideration the purpose of the Sanctuary Scheme, which is to allow victims of gender-based violence to stay in their homes. A second applicant in the case, J.D., was unsuccessful on her claim, which did not involve the same set of factual circumstances. The Court ordered the UK to pay the successful applicant 10,000 Euros for non-pecuniary damage.