One in Six U.K. LGBs Are Hate-Crime Victims, Says Poll

One in six LGB people living in the U.K. have been the victim of a hate crime, according to a new report.

The findings were attained through a poll of 2,500 gay, lesbian, and bisexual British people by YouGov, an online market research firm, reports The Guardian.

The research was commissioned by the LGBT nonprofit Stonewall and published in its 2013 Gay British Crime Survey, which will be released later this week.

The study also revealed that two thirds of LGB victims did not report the hate crime after it occurred. Of those who did report the crime to police, less than one tenth said his or her complaint led to a conviction, and only one in four victims were referred to a support group by authorities after the traumatic experience.

One in 10 reported experiencing physical assault. One in eight reported sexual assault. And almost one in five said they were verbally assaulted and threatened with violence. Moreover, over a third said they were repeat victims, with than four incidents.

Representatives of Stonewall said they hope the survey will result in broad systemic changes in British's criminal justice system, which will result in greater protections for LGB people.

"No one should live in fear of verbal or physical violence just because of the way they were born," Ruth Hunt, Stonewall's deputy chief executive, told The Guardian. "Despite radical steps to make police forces more accountable to the public, these figures show the disturbing levels of violence and intimidation faced every day by lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Britain. Most victims don't report abuse and, if they do turn to the police, they have low expectations that anyone will listen or act."