Hate crime is '˜background noise'

A charity working to support LGBT victims of hate crime believes more needs to be done to break through '˜background noise' and increase the number of incidents being reported.

By The Newsroom

Published 30th Jun 2017, 17:47 BST

Updated 18th Jul 2017, 08:47 BST

Hate crimes may be under-reported by the LGBT community

Sophie Bell, from Renaissance, which is working alongside Victim Services to support the LGBT community, believes many crimes are swept under the carpet as they are seen by their victims as a social norm.

She said: “The majority of hate crimes reported nationally are religious or race motivated.

“That doesn’t make crimes against the LGBT community any less of a priority.

“Part of the reason for lower reporting is that these incidents are seen as ‘background noise’, as a normal or acceptable thing.

“It means victims might not get access to the services they need.”