REPORT: Hate Crimes ‘Routine’ in U.K.

A new study from the United Kingdom reveals that an astonishing 35,000 hate crimes committed against LGBT people go unreported in the nation every year, reports Mashable.

According to researchers, the risk of informing police brings with it the danger of being outed, potential negative interactions with authorities, and what the researchers call the "normalization of victimization."

The report by the University of Leicester also says 88 percent of LGBT people have experienced a hate incident that left them with emotional and physical scars.

The study which was produced for the U.K.'s Equality and Human Rights Commission, coincides with the launch of the "Recognize It. Report It" campaign led by the commission and 31 organizations.

"Hate crimes are a routine, and mostly unreported feature of many LGB and T people's daily lives," report author Stevie-Jade Hardy, a lecturer at the University of Leicester, said in a statement.

"Simply expecting victims to report without taking meaningful action to dismantle perceived and actual barriers is futile, particularly when the evidence shows that many have little confidence in the capacity of authorities to act empathetically or effectively."

Hardy says it's even worse in rural parts of the U.K..

"The impact can be devastating. Some LGBT people are scared to leave the house, feeling anxious, fearful and vulnerable," Hardy said, according to London's Telegraph. "I heard from some LGBT people who had taken practical steps to feel safer such as installing CCTV," the British term for closed circuit or surveillance television cameras.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is trying to get more people to come out and tell their stories, and it also seeks to foster cultural change so that victims feel they can report incidents.

"Pride season is upon us and it seems an opportune moment to reflect on the great steps made towards equality, while highlighting the hidden scandal of underreporting of LGB and T hate crime," said Equality and Human Rights Commissioner Evelyn Asante Mensah.